Lawmakers Trying to Head Off Massive Taxation

An anonymous reader writes to mention a Reuters article about a lawmaker's attempt to stop the Government's interest in taxing Massively Multiplayer Game content. R-New Jersey Jim Saxton is cautioning against exploring the taxable status of in-game items. From the article: "'The goal of the forthcoming Joint Economic Committee study is to help lawmakers understand the issues involved and head off any premature attempt to impose a tax on virtual economies,' he said. Under current law, Saxton said if a transaction takes place solely within a virtual world there is no 'taxable event.' Dan Miller, chief economist for the Joint Economic Committee, said earlier this week that the committee's study would start with a blank slate and be completed by the end of the year."

Comments

so, does this mean I can deduct

[way2trivial]

-my internet connection, my computer purchases, software purchases, etc???

Ridiculous

[festers]

According to Blizzard, I don't own anything inside of the World of Warcraft. Why the hell would I be taxed on property that belongs to someone else?

Re:No value?

[Mark Maughan]

Money isn't real, it's a social contract. The estate tax is an economic corrector that prevents the growth of an aristocrat class that is forever rich and never has to work. Wealth accumulates without work when interest is better than inflation. It is not fair to get an infinite amount of reward over many generations from a finite amount of productivity over a few generations. Society doesn't have to foot the bill for Paris Hilton's lifestyle just because her ancestors were productive. It is neither beneficial to society nor fair.