Healthy virtual economies won't evade the government's watchful eye much longer. Congress is set to deliver a report on the taxation of virtual goods-- according to Dan Miller, senior economist with the Congress' Joint Economic Committee, who told CNET's News.com we can expect an update as soon as next month's Congressional recess.

It's still unclear exactly what the report will say, or what the decision will be, but, as Miller said in December:

"Given growth rates of 10 to 15 percent a month, the question is when, not if, Congress and IRS start paying attention to these issues. So it is incumbent on us to set the terms and the debate so we have a shaped tax policy toward virtual worlds and virtual economies in a favorable way."

If Congress decides to levy taxes against in-world economies, it could complicate issues for current and future publishers in the virtual world space, as they'll have to wrangle systems by which all trading can be tracked and reported-- though it'd be surprising if savants of the longer-standing virtual empires have failed to pre-emptively consider the issue. And even if Congress decides against a virtual goods tax, it's likely only to delay matters until another government intervenes.

[Via Slashdot]