[MUD-Dev2] [BIZ] Taxes?

[Andrew Budd]

Dana V. Baldwin wrote:
> Do you charge taxes for your MUD/MMO? An "interesting" discussion has
> popped up around the office wondering if we are responsible for charging
> state sales tax to our customers if they are located in Texas.
>
> Anyone have any experience with this?
>
> AFAIK WoW is the only game that I can recall playing where I payed
> taxes. They come in at $16.08 or some such where LotRO comes in at a
> straight $9.99.
>
> Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

I believe to be taxed as a good (for sales taxes) it has to be
"tangible."  Typically it's "tangible personal property" or a service
sold at "retail."  In the end, there is significant variation in sales
tax laws so it would really depend on what state your in, and a lawyer
or accountant in that state would probably be the best person to answer
the question.  I do think that you and your customer both have to have a
taxable presence in the state in question in order for the state's sales
tax to apply, however.