Post by leunas on Nov 3, 2006 14:29:54 GMT -5
You earn money, you pay taxes: that's the gist of a warning by the ATO (Australian Tax Office) to online profiteers and players of games like Second Life & WoW. An ATO spokeswoman told Aussie newspaper The Age:
"If you are getting a monetary benefit then it's not treated any differently - normal rules apply...your income will not be treated any differently than if you earned it working nine to five in an office."
Not only that, gamers that earn more than AUD$50,000 a year from their exploits must register as a business and pay GST (an additional tax we get slugged with down here).
This was only a matter of time. These games do real business, and people are making real money out of them. If somebody that puts in an honest 9-to-5 has to pay taxes on their income, then there's no way you can justify not doing the same if all you're doing is playing WoW all night.
Bets are now being taken as to which country is next.
www.kotaku.com/gaming/wow/australia-introduces-virtual-taxation-212139.php