Oklahoma violent games tax fails approval

A proposed Oklahoma bill that aimed to add a 1% tax on violent video games has failed approval in a state House subcommittee.

The Video Game Voters Network reports that HB 2696 was defeated earlier this week in a meeting of the House Revenue and Tax Subcommittee. The bill had planned to put the revenues raised from the tax toward programs to combat childhood obesity and bullying.

After its failed approval a proposal, entitled ‘Oklahoma Task Force on Video Games’ Relationship to Obesity and Aggression’, wasput together by the bill’soriginal creator Oklahoma State representative William Fourkiller thatwould have created a special task force to investigate the causes of childhood obesity and aggression.

The proposal was defeated with a 5-6 vote.

"It’s not a good idea," State Rep Mike Reynolds discussed during the proceedings. "We could have a task force on a multitude of reasons children are obese. Why we’re pickling violent video games was because it was originally a tax."