Representatives for Tiga, the U.K.'s game developer trade body, and ELSPA (the publisher's trade body) have been fighting for tax breaks on video games in Britain for some time. Today, the government responded. In a letter to both trade groups, the new Minister for Creative Industries, Sion Simon MP, said that the U.K. is willing to look at the issue of tax breaks for the games industry, but the government also wants the industry to provide some evidence to demonstrate its case. The government letter can be read in its entirety here.
Upon receiving the letter, both ELSPA and Tiga were naturally encouraged by this progress. Michael Rawlinson, Director General of ELSPA, commented, “We were naturally delighted to see that the games industry feature so prominently in the Digital Britain report. In addition to games classification, IP theft and necessary skills for our industry, we were especially pleased to see the government taking the issue of tax breaks so seriously. This is the culmination of a long campaign to get games recognised alongside film as a major contributor to the U.K.’s economy and culture. However, this is no time for self praise, we have merely turned the Government’s head. The challenge is to capitalise on this opportunity while we have their attention."
He continued, “The positive outcome for the PEGI classification system, announced in the same report, showed what the industry can do when we come together and present solutions to government which benefit our industry. Likewise, the Government’s promise to look at the evidence for tax breaks provides us with a rare opportunity to show the true value of software-led cultural tax breaks and their positive impact on the industry and economy. ELSPA will be looking to developers and publishers, large and small, to help us to gather the information required to create the most convincing argument possible in the hope of once again turning a ‘consultation’ into government commitment.”
Richard Wilson, Tiga CEO, was equally pleased with the government's response. He stated, "We are delighted that the Government is moving quickly on this issue. A tax break on cultural grounds will produce real benefits for the U.K. video games industry. It will provide additional resources for qualifying game developers and potentially lead to the development of new and original games. If the U.K. development community were granted a tax break on cultural grounds (similar to the French system), this would financially benefit developers and help them to compete more effectively and on a level playing field with our international competitors."
Wilson added, "Qualification under the French system is quite generous and depends on a number of factors. For example you receive points for working with European partners and for the game being published in at least three current European languages. We will of course work closely with the Government on the detail of a potential tax break to ensure it is successful."
IndustryGamers is glad to see this progress across the pond. Britain has a vibrant games industry and some of the most talented studios are in the U.K. Now we'd just like to see the U.S. provide some tax breaks to game developers here.
1 Comments
July 1, 2009
Hopefully this will happen, allowing more money to be pumped into the industry here in the UK. Whether America follows or not no one can say, but when Obama said that "read a book instead of playing a game", an article found on GamePolitics, there may be bumps towards that goal.