Yep. And because of that, we may have seen the last of The Gathering. This year the organizers found themselves in trouble with the tax authorities. You see, The Gathering has always officially called itself a computer arts festival. And here in Norway, you can arrange cultural events without having to pay any VAT on the ticket sales and other proceeds since the government wants to support the arrangement of cultural events. But just because The Gathering is becoming less and less a demoscene event and more just a big gaming LAN party, the tax authorities demanded KANDU (the non-profit organization that arranges The Gathering) pay VAT on the ticket sales not only from this year but from the two previous years as well, on the grounds that the competitions, conferences etc that made it a cultural event in the first place is now such a small part of it that it no longer is eligible for the exemption. This demand amounts to nearly 200.000 UK pounds. Needless to say there's no way KANDU can afford that, and unless it is rescinded KANDU will have to file for bankruptcy and that will be the end of The Gathering.

There's a good chance that they may get out of it though. This has sparked the debate of whether or not videogames are culture. When questioned, a lot of the politicians at the norwegian parliament including the minister of culture himself has stated that yes, they are. Most also agree that it is not good to kill off an event that is the biggest in the world of its kind. The politicians are also aware that especially the hotels and commercial community of the city of Hamar where The Gathering is held also benefit greatly from the large number of people it attracts. If it is finally decided that videogames are indeed culture, The Gathering will by definition be a cultural event again and any demand from the tax authorities will be withdrawn. As of today it is still undecided though.