They say the only guarantees in life are death and taxes. That wasn’t so in games like Second Life, however. Until now, that is.The U.S. Government is now reportedly investigating trade within the online worlds of Second Life and EVE Online to see where the “line falls between taxable and non-taxable trade.”
The concern for the government, it seems, is the fact that players of these games (and many others) can buy game currency for real money and then reconvert it. This means that game trade has a real value in the real world.
"Clearly, virtual economies represent an area where technology has outpaced the law," said the JEC statement announcing its investigation. "The goal of the forthcoming JEC study is to help lawmakers understand the issues involved and head off any premature attempt to impose a tax on virtual economies."
It’s being said the feds don’t intend to impose a tax on in-game trading right now, but it seems to me the study just opens the door for major changes down the road. What implications this might have on the many different MMORPG worlds is kind of mind-boggling.
Can you imagine getting a tax bill for your time online playing Second Life, EVE or even EverQuest, WoW or so on? It just doesn’t seem right.
But, still, there are those who make a fair penny buying and selling characters in games such as WoW and EQ, selling power leveling services and so on. Thanks to those who have turned playing into a business, it looks possible that all gamers might have a price to pay down the road. How this would be tracked in an equitable manner seems more than impossible to fathom.
I’ll be keeping my eye on this one.
Related:
Money Making in MMORPG's
Duran Duran To Play On Second Life
EVE Online Hits 30k Online At Once
Find more...
Comments >>
Add Igniq.com to your MySpace Friends
