Congress ponders taxing virtual items

Washington (DC) - Users may need to pay sales tax the next time they buy something on Second Life, thanks to a new issue being discussed by Congress.

Congress’s Joint Economic Committee will release a report next month about the situation with virtual worlds and economies, which will discuss the potential taxation requirements for purchases within these worlds, reports Cnet.

Many online PC games have virtual marketplaces where players can buy weapons and upgrades without paying sales tax. On the console front, virtual stores like the Wii’s Virtual Console and Playstation Store charge tax for items, some of which include virtual products.

"It is incumbent on us to set the terms and the debate so we have a shaped tax policy toward virtual worlds and virtual economies in a favorable way," said Congress Joint Economic Committee senior economist Dan Miller in a Cnet.com story.

It’s unclear how long it would take to actually set up an official tax law for virtual shops. It is similar to the debate over taxing online purchases, which was debated for many years before legislation was actually set in stone in 2003.