UK video game industry trade group TIGA proposed today that the UK's Coalition Government should open the Small Firms R&D Tax Credit to promote "a high technology recovery and job creation in high technology industries." TIGA made the comments in response to a "consultation exercise" by HM Treasury on the R&D tax credits.
TIGA proposed that R&D tax credits should be expanded to include associated costs such as property rent and leases; design costs - including building user interfaces; costs associated with art development; product testing; and IP protection costs, including the costs of patent registration, legal costs incurred in defending copyright and costs incurred in trying to prevent privacy.
TIGA also called for "the retention and expansion of relief for Qualifying Indirect Activities (QIAs)." The group said that QIAs could be expanded to cover the production of non-technological supporting materials such as the graphic design, audio production, and level design that go into turning an "unprofitable game engine into a profitable game."
