UK Budget Includes Tax Relief for Game Developers

A good day for the videogame industry continues as UK developers are one step closer to realizing tax relief, following news that the Labour Party budget includes such a provision.

The tax relief would be very similar to that which the film industry currently operates under, writes Develop. The budget report stated, “The Government announces that, following consultation on design, it will introduce a tax relief for the UK's video games industry, subject to state aid approval from the European Commission.”

Game industry group TIGA, who has been dogged in its lobbying efforts for tax relief, called the news “a decisive decision,” and said that tax relief “would be good for the UK games industry, good for UK consumers and good for the wider UK economy.”

TIGA CEO Richard Wilson stated:

For Games Tax Relief to be announced in the Budget is the decisive breakthrough that TIGA has campaigned for. Ministers have made the right decision at the right time for the right industry. Government Ministers are to be warmly congratulated for their visionary decision.
 

TIGA now looks to the Opposition parties to give their full support to Games Tax Relief in the Finance Bill.

To qualify for the tax breaks, TIGA said that games would need to pass a cultural test, which would involve “scoring against criteria of European heritage and game locations, languages, innovation, narrative, and location of development and key development staff.”

Philip Oliver, the CEO of Blitz Games Studios, offered TIGA a pat on the back, saying, “TIGA has worked tirelessly to raise the profile of our industry among Government and Parliamentarians. Today’s decision is proof that this hard work has paid off.”