UK games industry gets tax credits

TIGA, the trade association that represents the UK Games Industry has defeated the bad guy, leaped some buildings and rescued the princess that is tax credits for its members from the clutches of the Government.

The association has successfully lobbied for tax credits in the latest budget report and is not shy about explaining its role in the result.

"This is a decisive victory by TIGA which will benefit not just the UK games industry but also the wider UK economy. TIGA's proposals for the R&D tax credits will deliver 60 per cent [to] 75 per cent more value to games studios than the current R&D tax credit regime," said Dr Richard Wilson, chief executive of Tiga.

Wilson added that the tax credits could be worth as much as £7 million to the UK games industry, money that it expects will be funnelled into research and development, hiring and generating intellectual property, that is, games.

Tiga got the tax credits added to the budget through attrition, or rather through three separate reports and a number of meetings with MPs, the Treasury, and the Government.

However, it was slightly miffed about not winning tax relief, which could have propelled the UK games industry further, so far in fact that it could have challenged the, um, Canadian games industry.

"The Government's failure to deliver TIGA's Games Tax Relief is a dismal decision that displays a complete lack of imagination and one which will leave the UK video games industry swimming against the tide internationally," added Dr Wilson.

"Our key competitors have tax breaks for games production. The UK does not. Competitor countries including Canada are surging ahead while the UK is struggling: between 2008 and 2010 the Canadian games industry grew by 33 per cent while the UK sector declined by 9 per cent.... Only the introduction of Games Tax Relief will put the UK on a level playing field with our overseas competitors. Games Tax Relief would be the real game changer for the industry." µ