Planned tax breaks for the UK’s gaming industry have been delayed in the Budget 2013 announced by George Osbourne today.
The Government had previously planned to implement tax level changes for the British gaming industry on April 1, but this is has now been pushed back to a currently unknown date. The tax relief has been delayed as it still hasn’t been approved by the European Commission for State Aid, which would be awarded to games developers providing they fulfilled certain requirements.
The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE) has said it is “disappointed” by Osbourne’s announcement, but was still confident in the Government’s promises to provide tax relief to the UK Games Industry.
“We were prepared for this as it was always a possibility when establishing an entirely new European tax scheme, especially as games are so different to existing film and TV schemes,” said UKIE CEO Jo Twist. “We are confident of the government’s commitment to implementing the tax breaks as soon as possible.”
“We hope that the delay will be a short one and shall now be doing everything that we can, working with UK government, the European Commission and TIGA, to get the state aid approval that we need as soon as possible.”
CEO of UK video game trade association TIGA, Richard Wilson, was told that tax relief for British game studios is still a “top priority” for the Government.
“TIGA has been assured that the UK Government is committed to this Relief, will be legislating for this Relief in the Finance Bill and will deliver this Relief,” said Wilson.
Osbourne also announced that a further £10 million worth of funding will be made available for the increase of skills in the creative industries over the next two years.
Do you think the UK gaming industry will ever receive its well-deserved tax break? Will a tax relief encourage more people to get into game development? Give us your thoughts at the TrustedReviews Facebook and Twitter pages or the comments below.
Via: CVG
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
