Comments on: Wut Oh, Part Two

By: Massive.Update++ at MMOG Nation

Massive.Update++ at MMOG Nation — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 05:29:49 +0000

[...] Raph and Lum point out that maybe, just maybe, it would be in Blizzard’s best interest to throw their weight behind IGE. “Should Blizzard devalue their own currency, would a class action suit appear against them [...]

By: TPRJones

TPRJones — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 22:14:36 +0000

No worries, this one won’t hold up in court at all. If it were one of the games that has a clear market value for thier cash (i.e. Second Life) then it would be a different story. But not with WoW.

Blizzard should stay out of it and let it die.

By: 3 Stakced Midgets

3 Stakced Midgets — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 22:01:29 +0000

Blizzard devalued gold more than IGE ever has by releasing the Burning Crusade expansion. The recent daily quests added in with the recent patch have had the same effect on the WoW money supply as the Fed lowering interest rates would have in the real economy.

By: Amaranthar

Amaranthar — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 21:35:28 +0000

Blizzard can’t join either side in this without effectively giving up control over their own product. If anything, this might force them to get involved on their own behalf to maintain control over their in-game items, money included.

By: tannenburg

tannenburg — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 20:01:46 +0000

All very true, blachawk…but I fear that those in government will only see it as another means of getting revenue, and we all know how well most of our elected and appointed officials understand the magic voodoo box of tubes that is the Internet. I’m sure they’ll only be capable of “HULK TAX PUNY INTERNET!” reasoning and not bother to understand the complexities.

By: blachawk

blachawk — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 16:44:40 +0000

“If in-game currency becomes taxable income”

To be considered income, it has to be both earned and realized. If it ever actually came to taxing virtual earnings, which I highly doubt it ever will, you would be taxed or held liable for taxes when you actually sell the virtual currency for real. If you attempted to circumvent this you could be charged with income tax evasion as well as numerous other possible charges like operating a business without a license etc.

By: CmdrSlack.com » Lawsuits, Lawsuits, Everywhere! (Bragg v. Linden Lab and the IGE Class Action)

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:37:37 +0000

[...] on, we have another case reported by both Lum and Raph. In a move that I can only describe as “nutty” (which is a complex legal [...]

By: Heartless_

Heartless_ — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:22:04 +0000

11 and an Iraq reference. A bit later than I expected.

By: tannenburg

tannenburg — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:21:46 +0000

Oh, let’s get into the whole can of worms here. If in-game currency becomes taxable income, then will we need receipts when we buy a weapon at a vendor? What about buying materials for crafting – is that an allowable business expense? Will money spent on a player house count as a deductible for income purposes? What about pets – can we claim them as dependents, especially if we have to feed them (ala WoW?) If we give a noob some coin, can we claim that as a charitable contribution?

I’d love to see the IRS get bogged down in THAT swamp.

By: xaldin

xaldin — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 13:24:09 +0000

While I don’t think this suit is going anywhere it’d amuse me greatly to see virtual currancy gain real value. I can deal with paying taxes on it for the benefits.