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The organisers of the Games Up? campaign have made good on their pledge to keep the issue of tax breaks in the mainstream media – today’s Financial Times features a report on the lobbying.
The FT describes the industry as ‘redoubling’ its efforts (the Financial Times has been a regular platform for the industry’s desire for a tax break prior to the Games Up? campaign’s arrival) to put a stop to problems which "could set the industry even further behind foreign rivals".
Richard Wilson, CEO of Tiga, is quoted in the piece as saying that the recent decision by the US state of Georgia is "emblematic of the increasingly unfair competition that the UK games industry faces".
The report estimates that British-made games generated £4bn globally from £1.4bn in inward investment between 2006 and 2008 – something which could rise if the Government okay’s a tax break for games development.
"All our key competitors offer tax breaks and grants, putting UK developers at a disadvantage," added Wilson.
He said that the Government should "at the very least" follow France’s example after the EC cleared a 20 per cent tax relief for developers in the country.
