Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Busted Busted! Plaza's Ms. Pac-Man game seized by the state
Posted by Scott Henry @ScottTheHenry on Tue, Aug 2, 2011 at 9:01 AM
This past Tuesday, officers from the Georgia Department of Revenue showed up at the Plaza Theatre and seized all eight of the venerable cinema's vintage arcade games for "vending law violations."
While "seized" is, technically, the correct legal term, the tax cops didn't physically remove the machines. For now, they're all still sitting in the Plaza lobby, but they've been unplugged and tagged with stickers that threaten dire consequences to anyone foolish enough to peel 'em off. (Go on, we dare ya!)
What's all this about? Well, it turns out the machines were lacking stickers showing that permit fees had been paid — similar to the tag stickers we have to buy for our car license plates every time our birthday rolls around. Or, as Plaza owner Jonathan Rej puts it: "You've got to give the government its cut."
According to Rej, there is some confusion as to whether the vending company that owns the machine paid its share of the fees. But he acknowledges that the required tax stickers weren't present and that the Plaza certainly hadn't paid the fees it owes to the state, as the venue where the games are located.
His defense: Who knew?
"I'm not trying to say this is a huge injustice or that I'm outraged," Rej says. "It kind of makes sense that there would be some kind of permit fee, but we just didn't know about it."
The annual fees for the 20- to 30-year-old video games aren't especially high — about $25 apiece — but considering that a quarter-a-play machine only earns about $200 a year and spends much of its time out of order, Rej isn't sure the games are worth keeping. Especially when you figure in the sales taxes that go back to the state.
The irony is that the Plaza is about the only place interested in giving the machines a home. "Nobody else wants these old games," says Rej. "All the sports bars want Golden Tee or Big Buck Hunter."
In fact, the Plaza had brought in several of the vintage machines in recent months to join the familiar Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga and Defender games.
"I'd wanted to turn the room into a full-on '80s video arcade with black lights," he says. "It's not a big money-maker, but my goal was to cultivate a cool vibe."
Rej still hopes to keep two or three of the older machines, but needs to make arrangements with the vendor.
Wanna know the worst part of the story? Someone finked the Plaza out. That's right: The only reason state inspectors knew about the offending machines in the first place is because some rat bastard phoned in a complaint. Keep in mind that the Plaza is incorporated as a non-profit arts charity — one that scarcely breaks even from month to month hosting a dizzying array of repertory screenings, film festivals, movie-related events and new releases. Whoever the culprit is, he should be forced to watch, Clockwork Orange-style, 40 back-to-back screenings of The Room. Now that would fuck a guy up.
Comments (29)
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I like when the tractor beam grabs one of the ships and then you get it back and have double firepower.
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I thought liberals liked taxes and regulation, no? What am I missing? Oh, just for OTHER people.
This is the most disturbing part: '"It kind of makes sense that there would be some kind of permit fee...'" That makes no sense. Why should a video game have a permit or fee?
Whatta bunch of bs.
FREE MS. PAC-MAN*.
(*also Galaga, the best arcade game of all time).
"I thought liberals liked taxes and regulation, no? What am I missing? Oh, just for OTHER people.
This is the most disturbing part: '"It kind of makes sense that there would be some kind of permit fee...'" That makes no sense. Why should a video game have a permit or fee?"
How does this become a "Liberal" / "Conservative" issue with you? 99.9% of the time the Machine Vendor handles the License. The Location does not. I had the same thing happen to me. The Machine Owner let the license lapse and went out of business, but still cashed the checks. We had no idea. Depending on the Vendor, the Location may not have any knowledge of what the State requires. Since the Plaza IS A NON-PROFIT, the Vendor may have been under the impression the License wasn't required. It actually still remains to be seen if in fact it is required while being located in a non-profit.
Your post makes no sense. On one hand you accuse him of wanting taxes for everyone but him, and then say, "Why should a video game have a permit or fee?"
What? Is that a poorly written attempt at sarcasm?
It's obvious he's a liberal for a number of reasons. First, he runs a non-profit. No conservative would open a business for anything but profit. Second, have you seen the movies he shows? Conservatives hate gays so there is no way a conservative would show Rocky Horror. Finally, he is not outraged. If he were conservative he would be all up-in-arms about government intervention into his god-given right to not make a profit.
Someone pull Mr Cep's head out of his golf course sand trap and maybe he will see that in the current real world any leased commercial item used in a business to generate income would probably need a yearly permit.
Not saying it SHOULD be normal, but to a tea bagging free capitalist like him, he should at least understand that.
The real mystery here is not "what", but "WHO".
The snitch is someone who has knowledge of vending machine permit issues and either has a recent grudge with the Plaza (or it's owners)... Or, just a real nosy busybody (with a knowledge of vending permit issues).
To the Mystery Machine, gang!...
Sigh. I don't know the political and ideological orientation of the video game owner, my comment was in reference to this magazine. This is a liberal, "alternative" publication which frequently advocates for more regulation, taxes, and government involvement in our private lives. If you disagree with that statement then I don't know what else to say.
It is quite ironic to read the various articles and comments here which espouse taxes and government involvement in our lives and then to read an article which complains when the government is involved so much in our lives that they can seize video games that haven't had their taxes and permits paid. Do I really have to explain it? It has gotten so bad that the video game owner is not surprised that these games should require permits.
Economic freedom is (or was) one of the reasons that people want to live and work in the U.S. This is such a a basic example of that principle - if the bureaucrats would get out of the way, there might be a fun arcade opening, but as it is now, the video games might be gone altogether - no free trade (quarters traded for pacman), no revenue for the owner, no taxes for the government on those games, and no more Ms. Pacman.
@Cep, I totally agree with you. I'm right of center, but do enjoy reading CL from time to time. I had to double check that I was on CL's website and not on Peach Pundit while reading this article...LOL
The irony is pretty amusing.
But I do love me some '80's video games. I miss some of the more obscure ones like Xevious and Sinistar ;)
"Sigh. I don't know the political and ideological orientation of the video game owner, my comment was in reference to this magazine."
"I thought liberals liked taxes and regulation, no? What am I missing? Oh, just for OTHER people."
Then you quote the Owner. How does that read as a comment directed at Creative Loafing?
Wow. Your comment was even more poorly written than I first thought.
cep and rule.303 - you are equally wrong if you are going to say liberals blindly support all taxes.
This permitting scheme for old low revenue video games is stupid. Perhaps there should be some sort of exemption. Heck sure, perhaps permitting any game machine is inefficient and counter productive. But for the point of this article I hardly see how being critical of regulators raiding a place to capture $25 on a $200 in annual revenues is ironic.
Though yes perhaps CL is doing a Fox News gambit and taking an isolated circumstance on a permitting/tax system that in other circumstances makes more sense.
@cep, you're a moron. This isn't like banking, insurance, or environmental regulation that is actually there to help people. That's the kind of regulation liberals tend to support, and it's mostly at the federal level. It's state rights conservatives who like to talk about giving more local control, but that's where this kind of oppressive, nonsensical stuff happens.
I'm going to call the Plaza and offer to donate money to help them get the lien off of their machines. Who's with me?
Hey, I never said liberals blindly support all taxes, but if you want to maintain programs such as TANF and Medicaid then the money has to come from somewhere. That's what I find ironic about this article. It takes the "Look at big bad government" approach, yet it's that same government that's providing food stamps, subsidized healthcare, housing, etc.
Love this forum, always a friendly non-hostile environment ;)
@cep/rule.303:
And yet this was seized by the state, which the republicans firmly control. The connotation, which you interpreted as "OMG LOOK CL IS AGAINST TAXES AND BUREAUCRACY," is really an example of how rich corporations (Friends of the Governor) can lobby their way out of millions of dollars of taxes, but how the state will go to extreme lengths to collect $25 from a small time non-profit.
Try again next time, though.
If the state government needs money, it's awesome the Plaza is happy to help, but hey, let's do our part and support this Atlanta landmark in the meantime! Any uncalled-for political hatred we have should just be funneled toward the ass responsible for calling it in. Let's make this positive and support this cinema (I hear they'll even give you popcorn in exchange for money!).
It all goes back to the poker machines at convenience stores. They started making ones that were video games that could also be used for illegal gambling, skirting the original law, so the state created a registration program for all such machines and the fee is not a "tax" but a regulatory fee which funds the enforcement of the law. Sucks, but once again the minority of operators are costing everyone, like when Pvt. Pyle sneaked in a jelly donut.
(Holy crap...I just made the connection that Ptt. Pyle was the same guy who played Detective Gorin on Law and Order:CI!)
"Love this forum, always a friendly non-hostile environment ;)"
Damn what forums do you hang out on? Sesamestreet.com? This is one of the more civil and on point fairly unmoderated forums I've seen.
I am really surprised that this was Ga DOR, and not the City.
I've never heard of DOR rolling thru small establishments (did they ever make good on trying to put the screws to places skipping collecting/paying sales tax?)
The CITY, on the other had, started their shakedowns right after Reed took office (ask a local hairdresser how the city rolled thru the salons, or a bar owner about the doubling of the liq license fees), to the point of even sending out the Fire Departments to do "inspections" of commercial establishments and point out violations and the fines associated. They were not happy about it from what i heard; i don't know that they thought it was necessarily in their job descriptions to play makeshift taxmen...
I'd gladly take these machines off their hands for a reasonable price. I hope the Plaza owners see this.
email me, sparr0@gmail.com
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