Inside Social Games

Just as any industry goes through growing pains, it seems like virtual goods are becoming increasingly regulated around the world.

It was only recently that the United States IRS was discussing the possibility taxing of income generated via virtual goods (something that is also happening in Turkey). Earlier, Korea began taxing transactions in 2007, followed by China in 2008 (which also led to an increase in virtual goods prices).

This time, it’s Vietnam – the Vietnamese government is planning to hold an upcoming workshop that is intended to address the legal status of virtual goods within the country. As it stands, said goods are only covered by a law dubbed, “Circular 60.”

Throughout the country, there have been numerous complaints regarding not only the theft of virtual goods but their use in gambling as well. This is where the limitations of Circular 60 come into play – as it merely treats them as “part of online games,” and not property in and of itself.

In Vietnam, property/assets are defined as “money, objects, and valuable documents” and “asset rights (ownership, right of use, right of determination,” but according the Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Van of the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice, these virtual goods only show “right of use” and not “true” ownership nor “right of determination.” This is the whole defining question of the coming workshop.

Though it is unlikely that the workshop will determine that virtual goods will be deemed “real property,” it is likely that some form of legal status will be given to the intangible items at some point in the future. We’ll be watching closely, as the country’s actions will set an important precedent for the future of virtual goods around the world.

[via Virtual Goods News]