IRS Eyeballing Virtual World Tax Policies

Kotaku points out a Washington Post report about this year's recommendations from the national taxpayer advocate (an official who suggests improvements and updates to the tax code) which include developing clearer protocols for reporting taxable income from virtual worlds. We've previously discussed the implementation of such policies in China. Quoting the report summary (PDF): "By one estimate, about $1 billion in real dollars changed hands in computer-based environments called 'virtual worlds' in 2005. ... IRS employees have been unable to respond to taxpayer inquiries about how to report transactions associated with them. Economic activities in virtual worlds may present an emerging area of tax noncompliance, in part because the IRS has not provided guidance about whether and how taxpayers should report such activities. To improve voluntary tax compliance, the National Taxpayer Advocate recommends that the IRS issue guidance addressing how taxpayers should report economic activities in virtual worlds."

Comments

Another thing you can't escape:

[Anonymous Coward]

Ok Slashdot, I'm gonna tell you my first incest experience. It was about 2 years ago; I was 18 and my sister was 16(and a half). We had a cousin staying at our house for the summer and she was either 16 or 17. Got along great with the cousin, but not so great with the sister. She felt she should have the run of the house since I was about to move out to college and I thought she was a bitch. This caused conflict.
 
Anyway, the parents were at work, I was chilling in my room, and the two girls were sunbathing/swimming outside. I had nothing for my sister at this point, but my cousin was a different matter. From an objective standpoint, she's good looking. She's the big athlete in the family so the body is pretty good as well. I would post pics, but I'm afraid someone would recognize her(maybe I'll post with the face blurred...). So I can't help but look out my window every now and again to check her out and maybe jack a bit.
 
Here's where things get crazy. I'm building up jack material on my cousin, but I can't stop looking at my sister. Cousin is hot, but my sister has a RACK. Her boobs look like they wanna bust out of the bikini. So I start storing images of her as well. It feels a little sick at first, but that just makes things more exciting.
 
I want a closer look, so I go outside to the pool and say that I'm going to bust into the booze cabinent and to come inside if they want any. They think it's a great idea and follow me in. They get wasted pretty fast, but I only have a couple drinks. It gets to the point where they're basically passed out on the floor, wearing skimpy bikinis, and I'm sitting there with a raging hard on. So I make the decision.
 
I run to the basement to grab a camcorder and set it up in the den where we are. Just then, my grandpa busts through the door, tears off my pants, and fucks me in the ass. He's wearing a cowboy hat. Once he unloads, he runs back out of the house and yells, "I have the weirding way!"

Re:Bigger Problems Then Taxes

[ILuvRamen]

wrong! The reason I can't sell my in game currency on ebay is because it's just data on the server and the game company still owns it. That's the legal reason why they can and did pull my auctions from ebay! So if I don't own the money, none of my "income" is MY income. They should make up their damn minds I think. You can't say you don't own it to sell it but you do own it to tax it. I don't care either way because if I can start selling gold again then hurray and who cares if they tax it cuz I'll still turn a profit and if they decide the other way, I can't sell my gold but they also can't tax it so I win that way too.

Re:I guess it's true...The night income died.

[Anonymous Coward]

In australia 40% of people effectively pay no tax i.e they recieve more than they pay in govt allowances. I can't see that being sustainable.

It's at least that high in the US. That's what nobody is paying attention to...that you cannot keep increasing taxes on the 'rich' to pay for all of the programs the Democrats are promising to their main constituents: the young, the poor, the black and the stupid.

But they breed faster than anyone else, so guess where we're heading.

Re:Bigger Problems Then Taxes

[LordKazan]

Your mouth is talking, and inaccurate numbers are spewing out of it