Tip.It Times Presents: Tax Collection ���¢�¢â�š�¬�¢â�¬�� A New RuneScape...

[BlueLancer]

Have fun trying to tax hundreds of independent auction sites that have their servers in tax-havens where no international authority has any business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can not enforce efficient online taxation for imaginary items such as game currency. If a big site were shut down for not paying the tax to an american tax collecting agency, five new ones would pop up to fill the market gap and provide tax-free trading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

question: are things like ebay taxed?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exactly. The article says online currency is becoming a "big business with 7-9 billion dollars" fluctuating annually. What about the hundreds of billions that fluctuate annually in other online auctions and eBay sales like cars, laptops, machinery, etc?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why not tax those? Because it is not effective and a company would never enforce it in fear of losing business to an independent site.

[Guest TaDaraCampbell]

IRS took my 4 gp :cry:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...Confusing read, since I don't know much about taxes and what-not, but good just the same.

[jimjimson]

sorry if this is a dumb question but what is the IRS? Sorry I'm only 14

[hellbellz]

sorry if this is a dumb question but what is the IRS? Sorry I'm only 14

International Revenue Service I think?

[jimjimson]

are those the guys that go to your house if you don't pay your taxes?

[skeroh]

irs is a ridiculous organization to try and mooch money off people, and america is a worthless country that i have to live in until 18.

[Lemenkainen]

"It's always a bad sign when the IRS gets interested in something or someone." Really? Funny. The IRS is a major source of revenue for the United States government and helps provide for such programs as: affordable public education, public housing for the poor, national defense, development of cities and highways, medical programs, and more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Would you like to provide for all those things out of your own pocket? I didn't think so. And if you are still going to criticize taxes, don't yell at the IRS, yell at your Representative and Senator who is passing or petitioning for these tax laws.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice rant Centuramage. I was surprised that I had to go all the way to the third page of the post to find someone actually DEFENDING the IRS. First, I AGREE with the statement that the editor made. It is ALWAYS a bad sign when the IRS becomes interested in someone or something. As to your assertion that the IRS the major source of revenue for the U.S. Well, I will only point out that it is the American PEOPLE and BUSINESSES that the revenue is taken from. The IRS performs the same function that the collection muscle that CRIMINALS use on their "protected" clients. Yes, the U.S. spends GOBS of TAXPAYER money on all kinds of worthless projects. National Defense and Infrastructure are the only things they should be spending that money on. But the wonderful liberals keep thinking that it is unair that I have a good job, that I break my back doing, that pays me good money. So the "wonderful liberals" tm. have decided to take 33% of my earnings and spread it around to people who don't work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yelling at the representatives and senators about it does no good, because the actual earners are outnumbered by the poor that are going to vote for free stuff and the bleeding heart liberals who never seem to want to put THEIR OWN MONEY where their mouths are. They ALWAYS want to put everyone elses money where the bleeding heart liberals mouths are though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMASS!!!

[rickmundo]

if they would use taxes i think about everybody will quit playing runescape

[arendra]

Forgive the IRS, they're still Americans... They're not touching my money though :x

[123neopet]

only time I've seen taxes in-game is a game called Puzzle Pirates where Players own the islands, so governers can levy taxes on the shops and goods people purchase.

[baron8000]

heyyyy i defended taxation :oops:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I still think its a good article, well written etc and even though not directly about the game still interesting - there is a world outside of RS after all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. To all the people saying it doesn't matter that Jagex is UK based, it does; the UK goverment would never allow the US to tax british industry for its own gain - that is the UK goverments job after all

[Tsigane]

 

I agree with Scudman, this is a poor article and below Tip.it standard. Which makes it two out of a last three.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for people saying that Jagex is UK based... that is irrelevant. What is relevant is that E-bay is US based, and traded made through it would be the ones that will be taxed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

E-bay is not completely US based. Other countries, like te UK, have their own subsidiaries of E-Bay. This is an attempt to prevent country specific illegal trading, for example it is illegal to sell certain drugs in the UK, so thise adverts are banned from the UK based E-bay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, the IRS could get their information from the US E-Bay and tax accordingly, however all people have to do is sell on other E-bay sites, or any other site for that matter and their income becomes untracable. This the the beauty and danger of the internet, it is so annonymous.

 

 

 

Well, I think that it would be all or nothing deal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I mean, if US IRS start taxing E-bay sells, do you really think that other income tax agencys around the world would just sit by and watch? Or would try to get their piece of a cake also by taxing E-bay subsidiaries in their countries?

[Solidus_77]

Interesting article, but I would like to know a few of the sources for this information concerning the Wall Street Journal, especially where it says that they consider using MMORPGs as economic models.

[kemikalkadet]

Whats next, insurance and lawsuits? i can see it now... i'm sueing for slander because ____ called me a noob! insurance would be funny too, insure your rare incase you get lured, of course acts of god invalidate the policy, and zamorak is pretty evil. actually.. that gives me an idea, look out for my insurance company on the forums :P

[thomascrusoe]

Great article it was really quite funny at parts, I don't see how the IRS could tax 1. a British based game and 2. technically you are not making real life income on it and therefore can not be taxed, unless you were taxed runescape money LOL. this is just another one of those crazy far off money hungry schemes from the IRS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To Bad for them it can't work and would probably cost them more money then anyone else. so i have one thing to say to you sc.........

[drowcon]

:shame: if this ever came into effect it would be a complete an total outrage for millions of player. i think the even idea of taxing in such a way is an outrage beyond words i can describe! :evil: this is just another ploy by the irs to consume our money for the war in iraq (which i am also strongly against). besides, i dont like the idea that my government knows what items i own in a game that has always pushed that your character, in the game, remain secure from outsiders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~owd2~

[luker2d2]

nice one

[chris7654321]

cool idea...but how would players collect taxes??? :-k

[Centuramage]

 

"It's always a bad sign when the IRS gets interested in something or someone." Really? Funny. The IRS is a major source of revenue for the United States government and helps provide for such programs as: affordable public education, public housing for the poor, national defense, development of cities and highways, medical programs, and more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Would you like to provide for all those things out of your own pocket? I didn't think so. And if you are still going to criticize taxes, don't yell at the IRS, yell at your Representative and Senator who is passing or petitioning for these tax laws.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice rant Centuramage. I was surprised that I had to go all the way to the third page of the post to find someone actually DEFENDING the IRS. First, I AGREE with the statement that the editor made. It is ALWAYS a bad sign when the IRS becomes interested in someone or something. As to your assertion that the IRS the major source of revenue for the U.S. Well, I will only point out that it is the American PEOPLE and BUSINESSES that the revenue is taken from. The IRS performs the same function that the collection muscle that CRIMINALS use on their "protected" clients. Yes, the U.S. spends GOBS of TAXPAYER money on all kinds of worthless projects. National Defense and Infrastructure are the only things they should be spending that money on. But the wonderful liberals keep thinking that it is unair that I have a good job, that I break my back doing, that pays me good money. So the "wonderful liberals" tm. have decided to take 33% of my earnings and spread it around to people who don't work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yelling at the representatives and senators about it does no good, because the actual earners are outnumbered by the poor that are going to vote for free stuff and the bleeding heart liberals who never seem to want to put THEIR OWN MONEY where their mouths are. They ALWAYS want to put everyone elses money where the bleeding heart liberals mouths are though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMASS!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your own bitterness about how government funds are appropriated is something I disagree with, but I'll try to overlook that for a minute because it's irrelevent. The point is that the editor is lambasting the IRS when they have nothing to do with the act of instilling new forms of taxation. You might not think it would help to address the problem to the lawmakers you're a constituent of, but the fact is that they are the ones who make these decisions; making a scapegoat out of the IRS because you're unhappy with the legislative branch's decisions is unacceptable. They don't make the rules, they just enforce them. They're doing their job, as they should be doing. Everyone aims their grievances at them, for what? They aren't making the laws to gather your money, and they aren't deciding how it's spent. Who decides the budget? The executive office, with approval from the Senate. If you don't like what this year's budget was, or how taxes were gathered, how much of your money, etc, then get out and vote for someone who's going to run things in a way more favorable to what you want. It's the right you and every American has been given, the right to vote. You say that yelling at the Congressmen/women doesn't matter? I say it does. They are in Washington because you put them there and will only stay there so long as a majority of their home district/state/whathaveyou favors them, so it is in their best interest to seriously consider what you have to say, and if you don't like what they did this term, you give your vote to someone else. But to ignore that system, dismiss the idea of addressing the problem at the root in lieu of the much easier path of complaining to the unrelated party who is gathering your money is rather objectionable, to put it mildly. I like that you've voiced your opinion here, but frankly, much of it is unwarranted, and even if it were, it would be irrelevent.

[Kiara_Kat]

 

Next up: how would you calculate the value of player assets? There are 3 values which items in RuneScape have: low level alchemy, high level alchemy (both of which are tied to shop values) and the going rate between players. f you sell a party hat to a store, or accidentally alch it, you get about 1GP.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found a spelling mistake (o my gosh). Nothing bad just pointing that out o and btw its *if*.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not a spelling mistake - it's a typo. In any event, fixed.

[Father_Time89]

Someone said this on a different discussion on the exact same thing (although I am paraphrasing it).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until they collect taxes on collecting $200 for passing go in monopoly collecting tax on RPG money will never happen.

[Father_Time89]

Remember our founding fathers fought bitterly to get rid of an over tyrannical government that was taxing us like crazy, giving the current state of our government and this proposal could history repeat itself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway if the IRS pulls this kind of crap I imagine a long hard court battle in the supreme court.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also think about this as pointed out runescape doesn't allow real world selling of gold therefore irs would ahve to tax us in gold, now the irs is sitting on top of a very useless pile of gp and it needs to find someone to sell it to, but the IRS has angered each and every U.S. player of runescape (which is most of them) and they will likely refuse to buy from them both in protest and fear of their account will be banned so what good does it do our deficit ridden government?

[gmc007420]

Why does the government have to ruin everything? :evil:

[rebel_reject]

That would be the perfect idea if you wanted to make me quit :D.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although this will never happen. The amount of people against it would be so huge.

[goldenramoth]

Here's a dumb thought, what if jagex started taxing players for gp, like in real life. Don't tax real cash, but gp. It would really help balance out the economy. :XD: