Oh, North Carolina. The state, which is home to Ric Flair (pictured here), is now considering a tax on downloadable items. This, in a time when people are losing their jobs left and right. Download an eBook, get taxed. Download a song, get taxed. Download a movie, get taxed. Download a game, get taxed. You get the idea.
The new tax is currently being studied by a “legislative commission,” and, if passed, would net the state a cool $12 million in yearly revenue. That may sound reasonable, but when you consider that the state’s deficit is $2 billion, you can’t help but think to yourself, “Wow, this tax will do nothing except inconvenience hard-working North Carolinians. Thanks.”
The state is trying to justify the new tax by saying, you know, if we can tax a video game you buy at a brick-and-mortar GameStop, why can’t we tax a game you’ve downloaded from Steam?
Let’s not forget that New York state similarly hatched its own “iPod tax” scheme a few weeks ago, which was similarly greeted with derision.
All these taxes, as our infrastructure crumbles around us and Congress squabbles over ideological tomfoolery. Good to see things are getting better.
I say let the Chinese take over.
via Neowin
Are they trying to get more people to pirate or what?
I agree – it’s just going to drive more people to piracy. They just see it as another revenue stream.
I got a radical idea, how bouts they cut some spending and clean up the bureaucratic bloat…stick to roads and schools, cut EVERYTHING else.
Ideas like this have come up before, and been voted down and/or repealed every time, and it won’t work this time either.
Maybe politicians should figure out how to balance their budgets instead of taxing us all into oblivion.
What they failed to tell you is that they spent 15 million on the commission. Its this bullshit spending that is killing the country.
If they do pursue it, they’ll spend millions more and end up losing.
When will these so called leaders ever learn? Like the other poster, lets stop the spending first. Jeez if they put half the amount of energy into stopping wasteful spending as opposed to find new way to take our money, they would be in a much better position.
I think its time to put these people in jail. If they can’t balance their budget and stick within the guidlines, then it should be considered theft and they should go to jail. Stupid idea, I know, but sooner or later, we all will have nothing left to give. Then what?