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Sweden extending taxation into the virtual

James Egan — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Economy, MMO industry, Legal, Virtual worlds

Sweden is taking aim at online tax evasion and the estimated five billion Swedish krona (SEK) in annual undeclared income by the country's citizens. (This equates to roughly USD 645 million.) While much of this is revenue from "online marketplaces, porn, and astrology sites", undeclared income from games and virtual worlds are included in that figure. In fact, the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) looked at the sales of avatars and characters in 'computer games' over a 14 month period, with a collective advertised sum of 662 million SEK (USD 85 million). No income was declared on any of these transactions so it's a safe bet they'll be scrutinizing these sales moving forward.

Although the specific virtual worlds and games aren't named, GameCulture adds that the virtual property Skatteverket is looking at exchanged hands between 7000 gamers and residents. Also interesting is what GamePolitics turned up on the situation -- "even U.S. citizens could be subject to Swedish taxation on such virtual transactions, according to the Economics of Virtual Worlds blog."

Sweden extending taxation into the virtual originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC09: Raph Koster kicks off Worlds in Motion Summit

James Egan — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Economy, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Legal, Virtual worlds, Massively Event Coverage

Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2009 has begun and Massively is in the trenches to report on all the big announcements for the massively multiplayer online gaming industry, plus we have some great interviews lined up all week as well. Our GDC 2009 coverage begins with today's Worlds in Motion Summit, kicked off by Raph Koster, MMO and virtual worlds luminary.

Koster's speech is short, essentially a quick review of the virtual worlds trends he's observed over the past year. It's important to see things in perspective, Koster points out, mentioning that virtual worlds have recently turned 30, and are now a far cry from their MUD origins. Hardcore, geeky stuff Koster says, and we've come a long way since then. "We've kind of arrived, haven't we?" Koster asks. "One half of American adults are gamers today, which is an incredible step."

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GDC09: Raph Koster kicks off Worlds in Motion Summit originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When white collar crime goes virtual

James Egan — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Economy, Exploits, MMO industry, Opinion, Legal, Virtual worlds

The writing is on the wall. Legislation of the virtual space is increasingly becoming the norm. Just look at the ways in which Sweden, South Korea, and China are looking into implementing virtual taxation. It stands to reason that this is only the beginning, and regulatory bodies in other countries will begin to take a closer look at what's happening, economically, on the virtual plane. The economic turbulence felt in the United States (and beyond) and the numerous problems this creates has more people eager to turn a buck, somehow, and eyeing the unregulated economies of massively multiplayer online games and virtual worlds... and their potential for unchecked exploitation. At least, this is the view of Mark Methenitis, who writes the Law of the Game on Joystiq column, which focuses on legal issues as they relate to video games.

Methenitis looks at the possibility of insider trading being applied to a virtual economy, wherein a developer has advance knowledge of a price fluctuation and takes advantage of this fact. The situation becomes far more complex, and serious, when an individual within a game company has control over the trade between real currency and the virtual currency in question, or has the ability to duplicate digital products. Methenitis doesn't cite any specific examples of this kind of financial manipulation, but explores the potential for exploitation on this level. More than anything, his observations are of a 'what if?' nature, but every scenario Methenitis outlines is certainly within the realm of possibility.

When white collar crime goes virtual originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The slow demise of virtual tax havens

James Egan — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Economy, MMO industry, Opinion, Virtual worlds

Is taxation of commerce in the virtual space inevitable? We've been hearing more and more about this coming out of China, South Korea, and Sweden, but a recent piece on BBC News -- "Slapping a tax on playtime" -- hits a bit closer to home for many of us. Flora Graham, a technology reporter for BBC News, spoke with Professor Edward Castronova of Indiana University, well-known for his research and commentary on virtual economies over the years, and game researcher Dr. Richard Bartle about the impact of taxation on games and virtual worlds.

Castronova points out the idea of taxation of virtual goods exchanged for virtual money, saying, "... it's an extraordinarily dangerous development... It's as if every time I played soccer in my backyard and scored a goal, I would have to pay the government three euros. It takes away from the game's contribution to human happiness."

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The slow demise of virtual tax havens originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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China legislates 20% tax rate on virtual currency profits

James Egan — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Economy, MMO industry, News items, Legal

While much of the world's gold farming activity is based in mainland China, the black market industry operates in violation of the law. Despite this, a large part of the problem in curbing illegal activities in China is that there's a substantial divide between what the law states is illegal and the actual enforcement of those laws. This may well be the case with the law passed last week by China's State Administration of Taxation, which will impose a personal income tax rate of 20% on profits made from virtual currency.

Juliet Ye at The Wall Street Journal's "China Journal" blog reports: "The policy would cover China's legions of online gamers, who can use online virtual currency to buy better equipment and new powers for their online warriors. But it also affects millions of others who use virtual currencies on instant-messaging services and Web portals." The widespread use of virtual currencies in China spurred last year's restrictions on exchanging virtual currency into RMB. If the new law becomes a reality rather than a technicality in the lives of China's internet users, it will be a substantial change in virtual economics in the country.

China legislates 20% tax rate on virtual currency profits originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Second Life Philip Linden/Gavin Newsom Fireside Chat, part 2

Akela Talamasca — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Podcasts, Culture, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Interviews, MMO industry, News items, Opinion, Second Life, Free-to-play, Politics, Academic, Education, Virtual worlds

This is the second of two parts to the Fireside Chat between Second Life's Philip Rosedale (aka Philip Linden) and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom at the New Globe Theater, a meeting held and sponsored by Millions of Us, a metaverse development company (MDC), with Reuben Millionsofus as moderator. This is the mp3 and transcript of part two of the chat. You can hear and read part 1 here. Enjoy!

[Mp3] Download the MP3 directly

[Thanks, Celebrity!]

Continue reading The Second Life Philip Linden/Gavin Newsom Fireside Chat, part 2

The Second Life Philip Linden/Gavin Newsom Fireside Chat, part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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