The Players Corner Archive

Next time you purchase something for cash, keep your paypal receit, and at the end of the year, be sure to claim it as a gaming expense. Do NOT attempt to take a deduction for the expense, but simply write a small letter with your return asking if a deduction is applicable in your situation.

I'd give 9-5 odds that if we did that, 80% of all cash sales would end within a year, and will have ended so in an honest and by the rules fashion. reg

Lord Deprav
I will cut him off next time. reg

If so, I need to get a couple receipts... reg

Needless to say, because the sale was posted somewhere, and can be proven to be a sale by use of whatever list or sale post you purchased from, and since you are paying, not legally "gifting" the money, and you are attempting to take an expense deduction, they will cross check automatically to find whether or not the seller reported the sale legitimately, which I am betting literally about a million to one they are not.

Once they find one discrepancy, it is at their leisure to check for more, often without prior consent or knowledge of the seller. Running a business in such an illegal and without proper registration per se, carries quite a bite. Under state statutes in NY, VA, TX, CA, OK, FL, AL, and CO and possibly others, it can qualify as racketeering. Granted, unless the "fraudulent business" was making a certain amount of money each year, they likely wouldnt pursue such, but in certain cases, and especially in one case of a man running a fudge-coated pickle import business with his cronies, it could carry a legitimate bite which hopefully would have some sort of ripple effect on others. reg

quote:

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Originally posted by GSTamral:
actually it is quite simple. When you ask if the deduction is applicable, they will check the records against the business/individual who posted the sale.

Needless to say, because the sale was posted somewhere, and can be proven to be a sale by use of whatever list or sale post you purchased from, and since you are paying, not legally "gifting" the money, and you are attempting to take an expense deduction, they will cross check automatically to find whether or not the seller reported the sale legitimately, which I am betting literally about a million to one they are not.

Once they find one discrepancy, it is at their leisure to check for more, often without prior consent or knowledge of the seller. Running a business in such an illegal and without proper registration per se, carries quite a bite. Under state statutes in NY, VA, TX, CA, OK, FL, AL, and CO and possibly others, it can qualify as racketeering. Granted, unless the "fraudulent business" was making a certain amount of money each year, they likely wouldnt pursue such, but in certain cases, and especially in one case of a man running a fudge-coated pickle import business with his cronies, it could carry a legitimate bite which hopefully would have some sort of ripple effect on others.

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I don't think this will work.

The people buying this stuff are not going to turn in the sellers.
reg

The people buying this stuff are not going to turn in the sellers.
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this is true. Unless of course, there are people who want nothing more than to turn in and expose the sellers.

Many people have been trying to find a way to get rid of the sellers, since they have, in many ways, ruined the game. Here's not only the opportunity to get them in game, but to allow them to better understand United States Title code in the process by subjecting them to the applicable punishment for their crimes.
reg

So you better turn in everyone that has a garage sale too.

::chuckle::

This is not going to work. But nice try.

If you can put a value on coins and items then Simutronics owes lots of back taxes for all the gifts they give their staff.

To many loop holes. They will not waste their time on this.

edge reg

I doubt the people that don't get to play 24/7 think sellers have ruined the game, but rather made it more enjoyable for them.

If you're working your butt off at work and can barely find time to even play the game to powerhunt and make coins yourself, why not just buy some? That'll make the game more fun for that person because they can actually buy neat things and outfit their character rather than walking around with their newbie gear.

What? You'd prefer 75% of the high-quality items to belong to only those people that play 24/7? Heck, a high percentage of neat items already belong to a certain circle anyways. Where's the harm in that? I don't see every single person in the game weilding 10x weapons of doom.

The people that buy/sell items are basically the same people. They basically do business with each other, and for that small percentage of people outside that circle, I'm sure they love the selling because they get a chance at owning a nice item.

Ruining the game? I think not. All you're doing is trying to find someone to point your finger at and place all the blame for the reason why you're unhappy. And quite frankly, this isn't the reason so keep searching.

Luckily for me, I finally did find out what the problem was after all these years, and you know what? I have a more fun time playing these days now that I finally figured it out. Live and let live.

>>If you can put a value on coins and items then Simutronics owes lots of back taxes for all the gifts they give their staff.

Yep, especially when this is basically the only way they can pay their staff for all their hard work. Heck, I wouldn't mind being paid a $1000 suit of ungodly protection, heh.

- Pudgee reg

Lord Deprav reg

Many of the items purchased at a garage sale are undepreciated primary home assets, and therefore, would constitute to the value of the place of primary residence. (simply this, a furnished house is worth more than an unfurnished one).

Selling an item is flatly illegal, since it is not allowed currently under any statute to sell a good one has signed as belonging to another. Selling the time to acquire, while sketchy, has not been proven illegal, however, cannot, under any circumstances, be considered a primary non-taxable assett. By selling the time, and clearly stating so, you are advertising that you are selling your time as contracted labor, and therefore, you are subject to ALL applicable taxes thereof, regardless of amount of purchase.

Pudgee, I don't play the game 24-7, I still have nice stuff, and I dont use the method of eating a fudge coated pickle to acquire my equipment. There are plenty of people who play less than 5-6 hours a week who have plenty of nice equipment.

Yes, I agree that people who are in the game 24/7 have a decided advantage, but it is not overwhelmingly so as you speak.

As for ruining the game, yes it has ruined the game for anyone who plays the game to be an honest merchant. Your idealistic view of cash sales ignores the simple fact that those items of high power, while now available to people for cash, are also often available ONLY for cash, or the price in silver is reflectedly moreso that what should be the case. Any contained capital market system is bound by the monetary theory of non-arbitrage pricing, which the use of cash sales clearly destroys, thereby creating an effective secondary market, which, by the basic pareto principles of desirability and optimization of a two currency system, dominates the original contained economy. (for references on this topic, read any work on the damage done to the argentinian or brazillian economy resulting from the black market for US Dollars.

As for the Simu issue, Simutronics clearly states in policy as well to unpaid staff that the items given are purely in-game gifts and contain precisely 0 monetary value. The fact that some people who have been all star catchers have violated this does not, in any way, contradict this policy, but merely illegaly displaces it.

Going to your policy that they only go after the big fish, that was my point exactly. Cut off the head of the biggest fish, and the rest will scatter. There are those who make well in excess of 10,000 per year selling gemstone items, and certain others have acquired, through sales of items, more than enough to help afford the cost of a new house for direct family. at that level, it becomes more than cost-effective to pursue the matter legally, as the effective interest owed from back taxes, whose records are also checked during a basic audit, is substancially more than your average or known discount rate.

Those people who play the game to acquire wares in an honest and legal means are forced to watch as certain items become untouchable and others change hands more often than was intended, making merchanting extremely difficult.

Finally, as to the point of paying out of state taxes on goods, I havent a clue where you read your information, but it is, unfortunately, completely wrong. When you purchase someone's time, you are hiring them for contract labor. Similarly, because they are not on an official payroll, while they are entirely responsible for all taxes, both federal and state, you are not charged any sales task. An employer does not pay 6 cents to the government in sales tax for every dollar he pays an employee.

If you want to talk about such legal matters, please do so from an educated standpoint. I understand many of the sellers and buyers think themselves on a small scale and unwarranting of actual attention from any official source, and thus make up things they think are applicable but are not to suit their side of the story.

Selling gemstone items is basically akin to packing fudge. Plain and simple, end of story. No matter how much coating you add to justify it, it's still fudge reg

Second, internet law regarding sales taxes are determined by the state TO which the item is transferred and not FROM which the item originates.

So - if I sell a widget on the internet, to someone living in Connecticut - the same state I live in - I have to collect sales tax from the buyer and pay it to the State.

If I sell a widget to someone in New York, THEY have to claim the purchase on their state tax form and submit it quarterly if they're buying it for business purposes, or annually if it's for personal use. They do not have to submit the tax the same day the item is purchased.

If I sell a widget to someone in New Hampshire, no one pays sales tax, because there is NO sales tax in New Hampshire. The buyer is responsible, unless the buy takes place in the same state as the sell.

I had an online aromatherapy business and had a state sales tax license from Connecticut to do so. As a result, I was required to know the law or suffer severe penalties for breaking it. There were well over 100 more pages of laws and policies regarding state sales taxes, with dozens of exceptions, but that's the jist of it.

R
reg

Or you can just buy it and not pay the tax period. I just bought some junk (electronics junk) off of E-Bay and haven't payed a penny in taxes, don't plan to either. I don't see how the government even expects me to waste any more time than I have to on giving them more money.

- Lord Kranar, human Archwizard reg

Lord Deprav
Sorry about the bitter post, but it is how I feel on the topic. reg

But then, we're talking about Gemstone.

R - who is thinking of using that as her tagline.
reg

I admit it.

When I think of somthing good. I will let you all know!

edge reg

quote:

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Originally posted by Desharei:
If I sell a widget to someone in New Hampshire, no one pays sales tax, because there is NO sales tax in New Hampshire. The buyer is responsible, unless the buy takes place in the same state as the sell.

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I'm glad someone knows what they're talking about here... and I need to go shopping in NH. reg