• politics

    Idea Man Proposes Game Tax To Fund Juvenile Rehab Program

    Here's an idea: propose a 1 percent tax increase on sales tax in the state of Wisconsin to help fund programs for juvenile rehabilitation programs for those who shouldn't be tried as adults in cases of non-violent crimes. Now, a dumb idea: impose that 1 percent tax only on video games and video game consoles. That knuckleheaded proposal can be credited to Democratic senator Jon Erpenbach, who probably has some notion that the purchasing of video games has some direct and doubtless correlation to becoming a delinquent youth. The notion is silly, misguided and smacks of pandering to fellow dim bulbs who are spooked about the dangers of Grand Theft Auto creating a generation of hooker murdering thugs.

    Lawmaker wants expanded juvenile treatments [Wisconsin Radio Network via GamePolitics] [Image]

  • mo money, mo problems

    South Korea Taxes Virtual Assets

    The Korea National Tax service will start imposing a VAT (value-added tax) on virtual asset transactions. Sellers who do between 6 and 12 millions dollars in Korean currency (the Won) per half year will have the VAT applied automatically the transaction's midde-man. Sellers that happen to more than 12 million won/half year will need a business license in order to pay the tax by themselves. More »
  • tax

    MMOG Tax Man Comes Aknockin'

    The Congressional Joint Economic Committee — a group of taxmen, economists and autocrats — have admitted that tax law has fallen "way behind" the march of MMOG progress and are now seriously looking into the issue of taxing virtual assets and incomes. More »
  • japan

    Sony To Pay $243M in Japanese Back Taxes

    Sony really just can't catch a break lately: the PS3's too hard to make, Microsoft's got a year on them in the next-gen war, Immersion won't let them use Rumble and Ken Kutaragi is a lunatic. And now, the cow that drops through the roof of your barn after your survive the twister: Sony's been ordered to pay an additional $243 million in taxes to the Japanese Government. More »
  • world of warcraft

    Taxation Without Materialization

    epiclootwow.pngSo you finally got your full set of Tier 1 armor in World of Warcraft. Did you remember to declare it on your tax forms? That question may not be as ridiculous as it seems. After all, you don't need to have cash in hand in order to be taxed on it. Theoretical investment income and similarly semi-real goods are taxable, as are game winnings. If you can sell your tricked-out Tauren for hard American cash, the IRS may want to know about it. Sure, this probably won't affect the average gamer for a long time, if ever, but as MMORPGs start to include sanctioned markets where you can buy virtual items for real money, it seems pretty likely that the taxman will want to treat stocks of gold and healing potions as real goods when April comes around. Of course, they'll want their share in actual dollars. More »
  • editorial

    The Real Cost of Online Gaming?

    On Morning Edition, NPR talked with Julian Dibbel (the author of this piece, which we blogged when we looked at the prospects of IRS taxing your gear in an MMO). Dibbell talks about his own earnings over the year by trading virtual wares (he made about $11,000), but he isn't going to be the one who starts reporting this to the IRS. As Dibbell jokes in the recording that he doesn't want to be the guy responsible for having game companies file a 1099 each time a " magic earring drops off of a dragon whelp." I wouldn't want to be that guy, either. But as I was listening to Dibbell, and then re-listening to the piece again I started to think about my own character in Blizzard's World of Warcraft. After all it is tax time, and my account is ten months old, so how would I trace my tax history for the year. More »
  • 1

  • 1-6 of 6 for "Taxes"