Prime Minister asked again to explain the Tories' u-turn
For David Cameron and the Coalition Government, the decision to axe game tax breaks won’t go away.
The Prime Minister today again faced the question of why he, and his government, chose to go back on promises made in the run up to the election.
It remained one that the Conservatives have struggled to answer with any substance.
“Before the election all three parties pledged to introduce a videogames tax relief to compete internationally on a level playing-field,” Luciana Berger, a young Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree, said today to the Prime Minister in a Commons session.
“Why has the government reneged on that promise?” she asked.
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Cameron, who was quizzed on the issue at a PMQ session in July, once again kept close the Treasury lines.
”Well we had to make difficult decisions on tax relief,” he responded, to the routine grumbles of Labour MPs.
“Well, the Opposition members groan,” he retorted, “can we think of one thing they’re actually going to support to get the deficit down? I can’t think of a single thing.”
“So we have got to take difficult decisions and I think that tax break relief, which was not particularly successful or targeted, had to go. Those are the difficult decisions we have to take.”
Before the election there were rumours that George Osborne, then the Shadow Chancellor, had pulled the plug on tax breaks after no promise was made in the Conservatives’ pre-election Manifesto.
A Develop report backing the claims was vehemently refuted by Culture Minister Ed Vaizey, who promised his party would introduce tax breaks “no ifs, no buts.”
"So we have got to take difficult decisions and I think that tax break relief, which was not particularly successful or targeted, had to go. Those are the difficult decisions we have to take."
Not particularly successful? It was never tried!
God, I detest you.
You really think any industry will get special treatment in this current climate? The UK industry has had many years to improve itself in a money rich economy, but instead outsourced large skilled areas to allow for higher profit returns. None of which made it into your paypacket I would guess. And I would bet that a 'tax break' would easily been manipulated to help those at the top. Have a word with any company owner about tax on dividends and offshore companies instead.
No, I know all that. My point is that Cameron said it had been unsuccessful, when it hadn't even been tried.
And yes, if a tax break was introduced, all that would happen is that the same cabal of people who own studios and run TIGA would pocket the extra for themselves, in my opinion. I spit on you, TIGA.
As for outsourcing, exactly.
No jobs for old Etonians in the games industry, therefore no tax breaks.
And besides, the UK governments - all UK governments - have a morbid fear of newspaper headlines, so imagine their terror over a potential "HOUSE PRICES PLUMMET AS GOVERNMENT PROPS UP CHILD CORRUPTING GAME ASYLUM SEEKING PERVS" in the Daily Fear, sorry Mail.
See the problem?
