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Ebay's Second Life: When Should Virtual Earnings Bear Real Taxes?, Leandra Lederman
Ebay's Second Life: When Should Virtual Earnings Bear Real Taxes?, Leandra Lederman
Articles by Maurer Faculty
Millions of people participate in virtual worlds. The popular virtual world Second Life is designed to be a platform for commerce. This essay argues that profits received in the form of Linden dollars (Second Life's currency) should be taxed in much the same way profits received via PayPal, a widely used electronic-payment system, are. Although Second Life profits could instead be taxed once the taxpayer cashes out, that would create a special exception for Second Life that does not exist for platforms such as eBay, which would facilitate abuse and distort economic activity.