TIGA condemns video game tax relief abandonment in the UK

The Independent Game Developers Association, more commonly known as TIGA, has been fighting tooth and nail to get the UK government to give tax breaks to game developers in the region, but today ends up in disappointment. The Coalition Government could’ve introduced the Games Tax Relief initiative in the Emergency Budget earlier, but nope, it didn’t happen.

 

The Independent Game Developers Association, more commonly known as TIGA, has been fighting tooth and nail to get the UK government to give tax breaks to game developers in the region, but today ends up in disappointment. The Coalition Government could’ve introduced the Games Tax Relief initiative in the Emergency Budget earlier, but nope, it didn’t happen.

 

TIGA now condemns the Coalition Government for their lack of action in the matter, adding that the failure to give tax breaks or a similar measure meant that the country is missing out on millions worth of jobs and investments.

 

TIGA CEO Dr. Richard Wilson sent out this statement:

 

The Coalition Government has broken pre-election pledges made by the Conservative Party and by the Liberal Democrats to support and introduce Games Tax Relief.

Unless the Coalition Government introduces Games Tax Relief or a similar fiscal measure then the UK will forfeit millions of pounds in inward investment, jobs will be lost and we will cease to be a leading developer of video games. The UK video games industry is export oriented, high tech, highly skilled and low carbon in output. This is an industry of the future which the Government should be supporting with action, not words.

With regards to the reduction in corporation tax, this is welcome but does not address the specific needs of the video games sector.

Nevertheless, the strength of our arguments, our implacable resolve and our unrelenting focus has ensured that in the run up today’s Emergency Budget, Games Tax Relief has received serious consideration at the highest levels of Government. Additionally, TIGA has created a broad coalition in favour of Games Tax Relief: the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, the Labour Party and the Scottish National Party have all previously expressed their support for Games Tax Relief. Unfortunately, the state of the public finances has prevented the introduction of Games Tax Relief. TIGA will continue to refine the case for Games Tax Relief, or a similar fiscal measure. We will work with developers and publishers to deliver this critical policy measure. We will not give up. We will also continue to campaign for a range of additional measures to ensure that the UK is the best place in the world in which to do games business.

 

The importance of these tax breaks to the industry can be seen in countries such as Canada, where developers like Ubisoft, BioWare, EA, and quite notably, THQ, which has its largest studio in Toronto.