Tax breaks finally coming to UK games industry

Tax breaks finally coming to UK games industry
Game on for UK games industry

George Osborne has announced that the UK is set to bring tax breaks to the UK videogames industry, something which has been promised but not delivered since 2010.

On the day that Game announced it is to go into administration, Osborne has revealed that the UK's "brilliant" games industry will get some sort of tax relief and is also promising the same thing for the film industry.

In his budget he joked that the government wants to "keep Wallace & Gromit exactly where they are" and that high-end production firms will be established in the UK because of the tax breaks and that the UK will become "Europe's technology centre".

Tax credit scheme

The new tax credit scheme for the games industry, which has yet to be fully outlined, will come as relief to those who have been campaigning for rules on tax to be relaxed in the UK – given that many games are now made in Canada and other countries where tax has been lightened.

It also means that the UK shouldn't suffer from the EU's decision to close the ruling that allows games developers up to 20 per cent off of their tax in Europe.

Osborne also revealed that his budget will mean the UK will fully embrace the power of the web.

"The fastest digital speeds in the world... most creative digital content - that is what a modern industrial policy looks like," explained Osborne.

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.