Delco State Rep Wants Taxes On Violent Video Games

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — Video games in 2018 made more money than Hollywood, so it's safe to say a lot of people are playing them. And one state representative from Delaware County wants to tax the sale of violent video games to help fund school safety measures.

State Rep. Christopher Quinn (R-Delaware County) proposed House Bill 109 in late January that proposes a 10 percent tax on video games rated adults-only or mature by the Electronic Software Rating Board.

Quinn's proposal includes a 10 percent tax on such games. Video games typically cost $60, which means a typical sale would add $6 to the price of a new game.

Funds generated through the tax would be placed in the Digital Protection for School Safety Account, which the bill also establishes. Those monies would be used to bolster school safety measures.

Should the bill pass — it has not received a vote in the state hour or state senate at this point — retailers that fail to impose the tax would be liable for a penalty equal to half of the total amount of the tax.

State Reps. Ed Neilson (D — Philadelphia) and Carol Hill-Evans (D — York) have signed on to cosponsor the bill.

You can read the entire bill online here.

"The crux of the bill is, I’m simply trying to make schools safe," Quinn told Philly.com. "It’s about identifying a source of funding to help combat the growing violence."

The bill was last referred to the house finance committee. Quinn previously tried to get similar legislation passed in 2018, but that bill languished and subsequently died in committee.

Violence in video games has become a hot topic among legislators, Second Amendment rights activists, the video game industry, and gamers, as some say there are links between mass shootings and violent video games.

The Trump Administration — after meeting with video game industry representatives in 2018 following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida — put out a video aimed at portraying how gruesome video games can be. Watch the video here, but viewer discretion is advised as it contains footage from "mature" and adults only" rated games.

Villanova psychology professor Patrick Markey and Christopher J. Ferguson, professor of psychology at Stetson University, penned an op-ed for the Philadelphia Inquirer saying the bill would not reduce violence.

"The proposal is driven by the popular belief that such games cause acts of violence," the pair, who co-authored a book titled "Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games is Wrong," wrote.

First Amendment advocacy group The Media Coalition said a tax on video games is "an unconstitutional content-based punishment on speech" in a response memo to Quinn's initial proposal in 2018.

"The Supreme Court has already rejected the argument that the social science warrants legislation to regulate video games with violent content," the memo reads.

Image via Shutterstock