Pop Friday: Marvel Mutants are not Human According to Current Tax Code.
June 15th, 2012
A common theme in the Marvel Universe is the struggle for mutants and super-humans to be accepted as human by society. The “Mutant Control Act” first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #141 in January 1981. But the concept is ubiquitous throughout the X-Men franchise. In the X-Men animated series (1992) mutants were registered with the “Mutant Control Agency” and in the first X-Men movie Senator Robert Kelly introduces the “Mutant Registration Act” to the Senate. But what if I told you that the segregation of mutants was already part of current law, right here in the real world and it didn’t come from an act of congress, but from the tax code.
It comes down to a dispute between Toy Biz, a subsidiary of Marvel Comics, and the United States as to the tax classification of Marvel action figures. But the decision didn’t come from a bigoted politician like Senator Kelly. Like so many things, it all comes down to money.
Under the current Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading 9502.10.40 imported items classified as “Dolls representing only human beings and parts and accessories thereof” face a 12% import tax. But, under subheading 9503.70.80 imported items classified as “Toys representing animals or other non-human creatures (for example, robots and monsters) and parts and accessories thereof” only face a 6.8% import tax.
Of course this makes no sense at all. There is no rational reason by a chunk of plastic from China shaped like Barbie should be taxed at a different rate than a chunk of plastic from China shaped like a pink Corvette. Further, there’s no rational reason why these chunks of plastic should be imported from China instead of manufactured here except for the stifling and insurmountable regulations the State places on domestic manufacturers. But for the time being, these are the facts.
So, the question of mutant’s humanity did not come down to any philosophical or moral principle. It wasn’t even some kind of macho distinction between action figures and “dolls.” It came down to money. In this case, ironically, the State wanted to classify them as human, and Marvel wanted to classify them as “non-human creatures” to reduce the import tax, and by extension the retail price to you and me. Makes perfect business sense… if you’re doing business in an insane tax environment
In 2003, in Toy Biz v. United States the United States Court of International Trade ruled that mutants are not human, and awarded Toy Biz a reimbursement of previous import taxes they’d paid. The list of characters classified as “Toys” and not “Dolls” included Captain America (a genetic experiment), Spider-Man and Hulk (mutations from radiation), Wolverine and the X-Men (evolutionary anomalies) and Thor (a god… or maybe an alien).
It seems to come down to the genetic code, which raises a lot of really interesting questions for me.
The Neo action figure with the shaved head and the sockets is obviously human, but what about Neo from inside the Matrix in the black suit? Is the aggregation of digital information which describes a human still human? For Star Wars action figures, are clones human? Can Marvel claim that Iron Man action figures are actually an empty suit to avoid the tax even though Tony Stark is human? If Spock is half human do they pay half the tax? Justin Bieber has an action figure, but he was revealed as an alien in Men in Black 3… are they entitled to a tax refund?
What I really want to know is, is there any scenario where the Silver Circle Rebels can be classified as non-human so we can avoid the taxes? For example, the State occasionally suspends a person’s citizenship to avoid granting them Constitutional rights. If the fictional State in the world of Silver Circle legally suspended the Rebel’s humanity to avoid granting them human rights… does that count?
The real question is, can this legal precedent be extended beyond action figures in the future? I renounced my species years ago because I didn’t want to be associated with you bunch of primitive savages. I’ve been identifying as a “Pre-Op Extraterrestrial” even on government forms for years. So, could I take this precedent set by Marvel to argue that I’m except from taxes? That’d be awesome!
And don’t forget to visit our official website to learn more about the Silver Circle Movie:http://SilverCircleMovie.com
