Damilolah Taylor's Father says we should Tax violent videogames....

[thatbloke]

Link.

Er, what?

Without wanting to take anything away from what happened to this guy's son, this is to me yet another case of people having to have something to blame for every single problem that exists.

"Violent Videogames" have an 18 rating for a reason. The people at these young ages that are allegedly being affected by this material are actually playing a game that is rated higher than their age.

Ignorant people like this piss me right off....................

 

[Huung]

Totally with you on this one. I don't even see why people bother with this argument anymore - there's an age on the game for a reason, to stop incidents (albeit not usually this serious) from happening.

It's like saying, "My child got pregnant under the age of consent! Instead of persecuting the parents and perpetrators involved, I demand a tax on sex!"

It solves nothing to put taxes on violent games, all that does it make them seem more taboo; which in turn encourages children to attempt to get hold of them and play them, in an attempt to "fit in" and be socially accepted. When you're a kid you always want the things you aren't allowed, and this would just worsen the situation.

Once again it's one of those fixes that wouldn't affect those misusing the system enough for them to stop, but would just annoy innocent gamers.

 

[Zooggy]

Hoy,

Oddly enough:

1) People have been trying and trying and trying to establish a connection between violence in real life and violence in entertainment media, whether it be movies, TV, video games, or other. They have failed miserably.

2) A connection has been established between violence in the news and a subsequent rise in violence.

And yet, no one wants to ban violence from the news...

Ignorance indeed.

(Before anyone asks, the above was emphatically not meant as sarcasm or irony.)

Cheers,
J.

 

[decky101]

I have very little to say on this issue, I think it's pretty clear for everyone that a tax on violent videogames isn't really going to help anyone, I mean really what does it achieve? If we were to tax anything that could potentially lead to premature death, almost everything would have to be taxed. McDonalds can cause CHD, tax it now! Mobile phones can cause cancer, tax it! A note to the general public. Tax does not solve everything. It only serves to frustrate "normal" people and general dislike the government more and more.

As a side note, I must say that I feel nothing but sympathy for this man, he has suffered a horrible horrible loss which cannot be changed by anyone, but tax is not the answer to this particular problem (which, in terms of the grander scale of things, we are talking about a miniscule tiny and various other synonyms for small percentage of people who use these games)

 

[BiG D]

You know what? It's a great idea.


So long as all violent media gets the same treatment.

 

[decky101]

Personally, I also think all "soft cuddly media" should be taxed too, programmes such as Barney the Dinosaur, Lazytown and all media of this genre should be severely taxed as it is clear that this is a large factor when it comes to paedophilia.

/End Sarcasm.

 

[waterproofbob]

I think these arguments are ridiculous. This is yet another case of peopl wanting a scape goat and also wanting to be pro-active with what is a major issue. For me it makes no sense. Yes violent crime has increased as people has become exposed to more violent videogames. But using a similar logic it seems fair to blame TV manufacturers as as violent crime has risen so has the size of people TVs thus the size the violence they see is much greater at much higher definition. Yes I know that is an absurd statement but that is how I feel on the matter.

On the topic of violence in the news/media causing violence, I remember an interview with a detective on a news bulletin about knife crime. He essentially outlined the best places to procure the most deadly concealable knives as well as how some gangs operate to commit muggings using knives. There was even CCTV footage demonstrating some of these well planned muggings. Now I sat there thinking that I knew exactly how to go about committing a violent knife crime much more efficiently courtesy of the police. It wasn't how it was meant at all but it did seem to be going about it in an odd fashion.

 

[waterproofbob]

Personally, I also think all "soft cuddly media" should be taxed too, programmes such as Barney the Dinosaur, Lazytown and all media of this genre should be severely taxed as it is clear that this is a large factor when it comes to paedophilia.

/End Sarcasm.

noooo not lazytown.

Err I mean lazytown what is that. I've never watched that and wished I was sportacus in the slightest.

We seem to get taxed for everything else so why not an extra tax on our games as well.

 

[thatbloke]

We already pay 15% tax on em already in VAT (anyone else notice how VAT went down but alot of things in shops stayed the same price?)

 

[Traxata]

The 15% VAT lasted all of christmas, after christmas, the 2.5% has become an increased profit margin.

 

[Haven]

Haven says "hedgehogs shall rule the world!!!!"

I understand their reasons but I care not what they say.

 

[decky101]

In fairness, the extra VAT reduction seems to be mostly removed at the till, well at least it has been from my experience. And bob, you think your fantasy of wanting to be sportacus is embarrassing, let's just say I really like that pink hair....

 

[Silk]

I was going to reply with something constructive but suddenly feel the overwhelming urge to stab all of my work mates with a cleaver.. must be all that heavenly sword I was playing last night..

Kill ya later!