Governments bringing laws to the virtual world

My source article is here.

Basically, the Chinese have already begun by limiting playtime hours for games amongst all citizens. The article suggests though that otehr governments could begin treating online worlds as the real world. Namely, they could begin putting taxes on all in-game transactions. So for example, if you buy a mythical sword of awesomness from some guy who lives in California and pay for it in-game with in-game currency, you would have to pay a real life sales tax to the IRS in the form of a dollar.
So what does everyone think about this? Is this just a natural and logical next step in the progression of persistant online worlds, or is it a huge interference in a creation that was meant for fun and to be able to escape from the real world for a bit?

I don't play MMO's all that often, but I can say that if I did, this would be a slap in the face. You buy the software, then pay a monthly service fee, and now the government wants to come in and start taxing you on your game? It just seems really rediculous. Games are after all made to escape, if only for a brief time. Real world taxes don't fit all that harmoniously in that picture.

Jam it back in, in the dark.