Scottish MSP Urges New UK Gov to Consider Games Tax Relief

Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP) Joe FitzPatrick (pictured) is continuing to lobby the UK government for Games Tax Relief.

FitzPatrick, who represents Dundee West, and has been vocal in his support of the games business in the past, sent letters to three new members of the Liberal Democrat & Conservative Cabinet—George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, and Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport—asking them to work in conjunction with games industry group TIGA to enable tax breaks for UK developers.

The MSP noted that “any tax relief granted would be extremely small in comparison to the return on the investment, and would be a big step in the recovery of our economy.”

TIGA CEO Richard Wilson backed FitzPatrick’s request, saying, “Joe Fitzpatrick is right to note that the video games industry, if supported through Games Tax Relief, can help drive the economic recovery. With this policy enacted, the video games industry has the potential to create more highly skilled jobs, generate increased export earnings and invest in further ground breaking research and development.”

Earlier this year, FitzPatrick estimated that enacting such breaks for developers could “create 350 Graduate level Jobs and 45 million pounds of extra investment in Dundee over the next 5 years.”