Power to Tax Involves the Power to Destroy (Amusement Arcades Edition)

In 1819, Chief Justice John Marshall famously
commented, “the power to tax involves the power to destroy” on
his way to ruling that it’s too dangerous to allow states the
authority to extract revenue from the federal government. And it’s
no shocker that the perils posed by the tax power to the federal
government are orders of magnitude worse when inflicted on
individuals and businesses. Unfortunately, John Marshall didn’t
spread his sense of mercy beyond the banks of the Potomac to others
who might find a similar dagger to their throats—such as Brandon
Spencer, the owner of an amusement arcade in Hanover,
Pennsylvania.

Andrew Staub at the PA Independent
has the story:

The small borough of Hanover has long been championed as the
Snack Food Capital of the World, but there’s no such grand
proclamation about the small York County town’s nightlife.

These days, though, a blast from the past is helping change the
downtown dynamic, but local officials could derail the
momentum.  The borough wants the TimeLine Arcade, which moved
into a former bank building just off the borough square last
October, to pay a massive amusement tax.

The owner of the arcade, Brandon Spencer, declined to pay what
he said would be a nearly $6,000 fee. That’s left the borough
council pondering whether it should change a four-decade-old
ordinance to make sure it applies to a more modern world.

Staub points out that Hanover’s downtown is rebuilding after a
period of decline—with Spencer given much of the credit by others
for spurring the revival with his museum-style arcade. He charges
by the hour to play his collection of classic pinball and video
games. Because his machines don’t take coins, he hasn’t had to pay
the “tax of $50 upon each
coin-operated amusement device” that dates back to the days
when Space Invaders was in every pizza joint.

Well, he didn’t have to pay it until the town decided, fuck it,
they’ll just send him a bill adding up to three months’ worth of
electricity costs anyway.

The kicker, though, is Council President John Gerken’s reaction
to the news that the tax is unaffordable for the arcade. “It’s not
government’s job to ensure that people stay in business, you know
what I’m saying? The laws have to be enforced, whether you like it
or not.”

Last week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also
told us, “a violation of the law is a violation of the law,”
after cops killed a man over cigarette taxes.

So the sentiment isn’t confined to some burg in
Pennsylvania.

And if a law or tax happens to destroy, I guess that’s just too
damned bad.