December 5th, 2006 @ 20:56CT by kangsta
Taxation of Virtual Assets in Online Gaming Is “Inevitable”
“If you are a hard-core player of virtual worlds like World of Warcraft, Second Life, EverQuest or There, IRS form 1099 may someday soon take on a new meaning for you. That’s because game publishers may well in the not too distant future have to send the forms–which individuals receive when earning nonemployee income from companies or institutions–to virtual world players engaging in transactions for valuable items like Ultima Online castles, EverQuest weapons or Second Life currency, even when those players don’t convert the assets into cash….”
So, I wonder what method of deprecating costs will fat lewtz be? Do I get tax write offs for my fat lewtz? Damn, my books are all scrwed up! Crap, is disenchanting epics liquidation of assets? Blizzard gonna give me a W4? Are guild banks long term assets? Are guilds companies or financial insitutions now?
IRS CRITS YOU WITH AUDIT FOR 440000
December 6th, 2006 at 1:56 am
yes i am studying to be an accountant…and focus on tax…but the IRS sucks balls and will never work for them…i do think thats bull shit for what the IRS is trying to do with this on-line gaming stuff.
I mean come on…i would just call them intangibles and leave it alone…so its good for about 40 years (for 1 i dont see that many video games lasting that long…mainly cause on-line games didnt mainstream until Ultima i believe)
if any crap like that does happen i think that there can be a great agruement to atleast delay the taxation of such items. As in other intangibles such as copy rightes and patents, and say give them a min life of 5 years before government functions can touch them.
No im still not endorsing that this type of trade currency should be taxed, but hell or high water is going to happen if an imediate action is taken place to tax such currency transations.
Now i have to go before i force myself to search the FASB and other laws to anger me more…
(RESISTED!)
and no…ive never payed for people to play or other trade for real money…
December 6th, 2006 at 2:39 am
Is this for real?
I mean, seriously, I can understand if they want it in terms of something like Second Life, where it is common practice (and in fact encouraged) to transfer pixels to pasos, but for the love of Pete, are they really gonna put out a purple pixel tariff? You have to be shitting me if they think this will EVER fly.
Nevermind the fact that these assets all become COMPLETELY erradicated within 5 years of them being introduced, max, thanks to the turnaround in the gaming industry, but they are charging people for what MOST people do in their spare time (I’m not counting gold farmers, cause honestly, they aren’t people in the strictest sense), which really rubs me the wrong way.
Dude, I really don’t like the idea of being anti-establishment, or any of the whiny crap that usually associates itself with that kind of garbage, but the stuff that is coming out of supposed government experts is beginning to make me hate every last fucker to ever wear a tie, kiss a baby, and shake a bunch of hands.