Background on Claudia Sheinbaum
Claudia Sheinbaum Prado is the current President of Mexico City, serving since 2018. As a prominent figure in Mexican politics, she has been instrumental in shaping policies related to education, environment, and social programs. Her recent decision regarding the tax on violent video games highlights her commitment to understanding and addressing youth concerns.
The Decision: Canceling the Tax on Violent Video Games
On Tuesday morning, Claudia Sheinbaum announced the cancellation of the tax on violent video games due to the lack of a clear line to distinguish games that promote violent behavior among young people.
“The tax will no longer be collected because, although I had requested the removal of the video game tax from the Income Tax Law, it was not eliminated and remained. It’s very difficult to differentiate between a video game with violence and one without, who will determine this situation? Therefore, we decided not to collect the tax,” explained the president.
Rationale Behind the Decision
During her regular “Mañanera del Pueblo” conference, Sheinbaum Prado elaborated on the decision to forgo the tax and instead focus on awareness campaigns targeting young people and adolescents.
Many of them are online and can lead to video game addiction, cost money, and promote violent behaviors.
— Claudia Sheinbaum (@Claudiashein) March 28, 2023
Original Tax Proposal
According to the 2026 Economic Package, the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) aimed to apply an 8% tax on physical format sales and digital services for video game access or download, offered by domestic or foreign companies without a local presence.
Key Questions and Answers
- What was the tax on violent video games supposed to achieve? The intended goal was to regulate and potentially discourage the consumption of video games deemed excessively violent.
- Why was the tax considered difficult to enforce? There is no clear distinction between video games containing violence and those that do not, making it challenging to determine which games should be taxed.
- What alternative approach did Claudia Sheinbaum propose? Instead of taxing violent video games, she opted for awareness campaigns targeting young people and adolescents to inform them about the potential risks associated with excessive gaming.
