Lib Dems to Give UK Videogame Industry Tax Relief “as Soon as Possible”

During a Liberal Democrat talk today, Liberal MP Don Foster stated the party would implement tax relief as soon as they possibly could. He said that the ‘œLiberal Democrats support the introduction of a videogames tax relief. Following consultation on the details, we would implement the relief as soon as possible.”

This commitment can be treated as a positive thing for the UK games industry, as there have recently been fears that the current taxes may contribute to the country’s “brain drain”.

According to The Independent Games Developers Association (TIGA), 44 studios have been closed down within the last two years – 6% of all studios – due to the high taxes that have been implemented. TIGA CEO Dr Richard Wilson has said that: “TIGA welcomes the Liberal Democrats’ commitment to support games tax relief and to enact this tax measure as quickly as possible. There is a growing cross party consensus that games tax relief is good for the UK development sector, good for the UK games industry, and good for the UK economy.”

I think it is great that this is finally being considered as a serious issue. The UK’s movie industry has been getting tax credit relief for as long as I can remember, and despite what the Roger Ebert’s of the world think, videogames deserve to be taken seriously too.

This latest promise has only fuelled my desire for a Liberal government. Not only is Nick Clegg promising this, but he is also promising to review the UK’s Digital Economy bill too, which everyone here should want.