The Financial Times today reports that China does U-turn on online money-making. Making 'real' money by trading virtual currencies earned from online gaming was banned two years ago, but it looks like the Chinese government has changed its mind. China will now collect a 20 percent tax on income earned from online gaming.
As I point out in a post on The end of Doha and the World of Warcraft, gold farming and trading in virtual currencies is "largely under the radar of the World Trade Organization and, to some extent, government tax collectors." The FT cites an online contributor with a slightly more poetic take on the issue: "If they successfully implement this tax, I will jump over Mount Everest."
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