Taxing the Metaverse

Abstract

The metaverse has gained popularity following Facebook (Meta)’s announcement that it would bring the “Metaverse” to life and the excitement around cryptocurrency and NFTs. The metaverse acts as a social network where people participate in virtual activities, like purchasing digital real estate with digital currencies. Economic activity spans from buying and purchasing virtual goods, to offering virtual services such as legal counseling and accounting. In a new paper, I define metaverse as any network of virtual worlds wherein participants engage in economic activity, including the ability to consume, create, trade, and accumulate digital items with real economic value. (An item has real economic value if it can be converted or at least valued in a taxable currency such as crypto or the U.S. dollar.) Under this definition, only virtual worlds that go above and beyond traditional video games are considered a part of the metaverse.

Document Type

Blog Post

Publication Date

9-27-2023

Source Publication

CLS Blue Sky Blog

Disciplines

Law | Tax Law

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