“Rental” of virtual land in an online game

A judgment by the German Federal Fiscal Court on the in-game renting of virtual property contains three rather surprising (and partially taxpayer-friendly) statements (dated 18 Nov 2021, file no V R 38/19, published 17 Mar 2022):

+ In-game transactions are generally out-of-scope of VAT, except where the virtual items are exchanged against legal tender (e.g. “real-world” currency)
+ the taxable sale of in-game currency is the transfer of a right according to Art 59 lit a of the EU VAT Directive (i.e. not an electronically supplied service according to Art 58 para 1 lit c of the EU VAT Directive)
+ Transactions via an in-game exchange / marketplace generally create a supply chain (selling user -> game operator -> purchasing user); however exceptions might apply

Source

• Matthias Luther
• BFH

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