Yesterday’s Pre-Budget Report brought some progress in respect of Research and Development (R&D) tax credits. Developers will no longer have to own the Intellectual Property (IP) in the product of their research and development in order to qualify for the relief.
The condition requiring that any IP deriving from the R&D to which the expenditure is attributable be owned by the company making the claim will be abolished. The change will have effect for any expenditure incurred by a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) company on R&D in an accounting period ending on or after 9 December 2009. This means that game developers no longer need to own the IP in the product of their research and development in order to qualify for R&D tax relief.
Games businesses should contact one of TIGA’s accountancy firm members for further details.
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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 about R&D tax relief and the changes resulting from the 2009 Pre-Budget Report, please see: PBR Note 06 and http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pbr2009/pbrn6.pdf
For further information, please contact Eva Field, TIGA PR Manager on: 07814 039 983, or email eva@tiga.org.