Jeremy Holt, Founder, Swindon Museum of Computing & Justin Tomlinson MP
Justin Tomlinson MP today welcomed the announcement of a tax relief for the videogame industy in this year's Budget.
TIGA, the trade association representing the UK Games Industry, has also today thanked the Westminster All Party Computer and Video Games Industry Group for helping to encourage Chancellor George Osborne to give tax relief to game developers in this week’s Budget.
Eight MPs from the All Party Computer and Video Games Industry Group, including Justin Tomlinson MP, signed a letter sent by TIGA to the Chancellor, putting forward the case for tax credits ahead of the decision to grant film-industry style tax breaks.
The letter stated:
“To maintain its status as a world-class games development location, to continue to maximise tax revenues and to attract investment into the UK, the UK Coalition Government needs to implement a relatively modest but significant fiscal intervention, a tax relief for games development.”
TIGA estimates that tax relief will increase the games development sector’s contribution to UK GDP by £283 million, generate £172 million in new and protected tax receipts to HM Treasury, and could cost just £96 million over five years.
In his Budget, Chancellor George Osborne said:
"Today we also set Britain this industrial ambition – that we turn Britain into Europe’s technology centre. We will start with digital content. The film tax credit, protected in our spending review, helps generate more than £1bn of film production investment in the UK in the last year alone.
"Today I am announcing our intention to introduce similar schemes for the videogames, animation and high-end TV production industry."
TIGA CEO Dr Richard Wilson said:
"The huge effort and support from those inside and outside the videogame industry has been instrumental in helping TIGA to achieve the goal of tax relief for developers in the UK. I would like to thank all of those MPs who have backed the case and enabled us to take it to the heart of Westminster. I would especially like to thank all of the members of the Westminster All Party Computer and Video Games Industry Group and particularly the eight signatories of this letter: these MPs have really fought for the interests of the UK games development sector."
TIGA held an event at the House of Commons last Thursday with the aim of gathering further support for tax breaks.
TIGA instigated the creation of the All Party Group in 2009 and then instigated the Group again after the 2010 General Election.