Wtf!!!!!
 

WTF!!!!!!!!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061016/...ondlife_tax_dc

Re: Wtf!!!!!
 

Yeah I was reading that from Slashdot yesterday. Doesn't matter cause who the hell would actually report that shit?

Re: Wtf!!!!!
 

That's the point Nizzles, it'd be law for the *vendors* to report this.

As I explained to our paniced friend though, only places where you can turn virtual currency into real-world goods and services would ever be targeted since they're the only ones they can quantify. If you can only spend the money in-game, then there's no way you derive benefit from having it.

If you CAN exchange game money for something with a dollar figure, expect to get the letter from the IRS any day now.

Re: Wtf!!!!!
 

Unless of course those places operate outside of the US and are not reporting the transactions to them.

Re: Wtf!!!!!
 

But my thought is since the game gold isn't real, it can't be money, if its not money, its becomes an item or service, so its the barter system and can't be taxed. Example: I'll give Niz 2 chickens for a blow job. No cash no tax

Re: Wtf!!!!!
 

They also don't acknowledge that it is not legal to turn your WoW assets into real-world cash like it is for Second Life. Though people do it, anyone reporting their WoW earnings would also be subject to prosecution lol.

Re: Wtf!!!!!
 

You're getting ripped off. Thats worth maybe a dozen eggs....but not 2 whole chickens.

Re: Wtf!!!!!
 

Whatever.. I just give you the shitty blowjobs.

Re: Wtf!!!!!
 

Again, if something of no value on its own can be exchanged for quantifiable goods and services, it is money and must be taxed as such.

Chickens have an intrinsic value, they're food and produce other foods. If you tried to sell the chicken and/or eggs for money (which actually has no value), then you'd owe taxes on that sale. If you barter those chickens, you've exchanged value for value, and it becomes impossible for the IRS to say "A chicken is worth $4 and a blowjob is worth $8".

WoW does not have a mechanism to convert virtual currency to real world goods. Period.

Other games do have such a mechanism. Eve lets you convert in-game money into gametime. Game time has an established value of $10 per month. This would make the amount of money required to purchase the month of game time equal to $10. If you have the money to purchase a year's worth of time, then you have $120 you've earned in the game. That's income, as you have $120 worth of services and you didn't pay for them out of your taxed income.

Second life, with a direct conversion to US dollars is even more so.

See the pattern? Virtual currency to real world stuff = taxed. If you cannot exchange (legitimately) the virtual currency to real money, goods or services then it becomes impossible to tax it as there's no standard to evaluate upon. Blizzard further insulates this by inflating the market intentionally, ensuring that there is no stable amount to compare to.

The article mentions World of Warcraft, but fails to mention that it's impossible to abide by the license agreement and exchange in-game currency for anything not in game.

Re: Wtf!!!!!
 

Yes but if you could find a company in China willing to pay you in chinese currency for you second life money, and then you converted your chinese money into USD then you could launder the shit out of it and never claim it.

Re: Wtf!!!!!
 

Hence why the IRS is taking an interest in monitoring how much money one has in such economies from year-to-year. If they know that Nizuttz had $400,000 worth of money in Second Life and taxed him on it, then the issue becomes somewhat moot.

Again, this is in virtual economies that interface with the "real world", not games that keep entirely to themselves.

Re: Wtf!!!!!
 

They can't tax you on virtual money with the assumption that you will convert it. They must wait until the actual conversion takes place.

Re: Wtf!!!!!
 

True, but if they're looking to compile an asset report, that'd be included as an asset. Much like your home is worthless until you sell and/or mortage it and stock is worthless until you sell it, but it's still an asset you possess.

Re: Wtf!!!!!
 

It seems that anytime there is any form of discussion involving any type of online game, WoW is mentioned whether its even relevant to the situation or not. I guess since thats the popular one that the most folks have remotely heard of, it gets thrown in there for the name recognition value. Just about everyweek, Mrs. Stoke runs across something in her work in IT Security that will somehow try to bring WoW into whatever they are trying to push at that particular moment in time.

99% of the time its bullshit.

Re: Wtf!!!!!
 

Well, I wasn't really panicked. I was more entertained and horrified at the same time and just had to share it. The idea that legislators are creaming themselves over monopoly money and that they could get their hands on some of it just cracks me up and repulses me at the same time. Idiots....all of them. Governments love to try and control what they don't understand and/or things they are affraid of. They're so afraid of a game because, deep down, they know they would never be able to tell the difference between the game and reality once in the game, but they are still so arrogant that they naturally think no one else can either. So, they want to get a piece of it because then they can control it.