Games Tax Relief

Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick has written to three members of the new Liberal Democrat – Conservative Cabinet calling on them to support Games Tax Relief and to engage with TIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry, to “progress the issue”.

The SNP member of the Holyrood Parliament wrote to George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, and to Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, recommending to them that they introduce Games Tax Relief in the Budget on June 22nd.

Joe Fitzpatrick pointed out 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.”

Richard Wilson, CEO of TIGA, said:

“Joe Fitzpatrick MSP knows from firsthand experience how important the video games industry is to the economy. Dundee is a centre of video games excellence, ranging from Abertay University to innovative Scottish games businesses such as 4J Studios, Cohort Studios, Denki, Digital Goldfish, Dynamo Games, Proper Games, Realtime Worlds, Tag Games and TPLD.

“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.”

Colin Anderson, MD of Denki, said:

“The Dundee games industry in particular and the UK video games sector in general, is just the kind of industry that the new Coalition Government should be supporting. We are a knowledge based industry, employ highly skilled people, engage in cutting edge research and development and we export our games all over the world. If Games Tax Relief is implemented then our sector can play a vital role in rebalancing the economy away from an over-reliance on financial services.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

About TIGA:

TIGA is the trade association representing the UK’s games industry. The majority of our members are either independent games developers or in-house publisher owned developers. We also have outsourcing companies, technology businesses and universities amongst our membership.

TIGA's vision is to make the UK the best place in the world to do games business. We focus on three sets of activities: political representation, generating media coverage and developing services that enhance the competitiveness of our members. This means that TIGA members are effectively represented in the corridors of power, their voice is heard in the media and they receive benefits that make a material difference to their businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial opportunities.

For further information, please contact Eva Field, TIGA PR Manager on: 07814 039 983, or email eva@tiga.org.