TIGA Calls for More Support for Exporters

By February 9, 2015 Press Releases

TIGA submits evidence to Cole Review of Exports

TIGA, the network for games developers and digital publishers, and the trade association for the UK videogames industry, said today that policy makers needed to do more to assist and encourage more firms to export if export led growth was to be a reality.

TIGA made the comments in its response to the Cole Review of Exports, an independent, Labour Party commissioned, review of export policy.

Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO, said:

“The UK has a persistent current account deficit, exporting fewer goods and services than it imports. If the UK is to achieve export led growth in the future then we need to assist and encourage more firms to export. Currently, just one in five UK SMEs export compared to an EU average of one in four.

“Companies need to be competitive and to provide superior products and services. Yet the UK Government can encourage more businesses to export. We can help more games businesses to grow and export by introducing a Prototype Fund and a Creative Content Fund to improve developers’ access to finance; UKTI can invest more resources in the Trade Assistance Programme and to Events and Missions; and UKTI should aggressively market the UK as a good place to do business in order to attract inward investment.”

TIGA’s proposals to the Cole Review to support export led growth include the following measures:

  1. Prototype funding should be made available to enable start-up studios to access finance, develop new IP and ultimately export their games.
  2. A Creative Content Fund (CCF) should be established in order to co-fund new content development and IP generation and so export their games.
  3. UKTI should help more games businesses to export and aggressively market the UK to attract inward investment. In 2013/14 just 1.4 percent (£220,100) of total UKTI Trade Assistance Programme funding was allocated to the video games sector. Additionally just 0.18 per cent (£25,000) of total UKTI Events and Missions spending was assigned to the video games sector.
  4. The UK should be aggressively marketed as an attractive location for inward investment for the games industry.
  5. The next UK Government should explore the case for securing an Export Tax Relief. An ‘Export Tax Relief’ to incentivise more firms to export, thereby promoting export-led economic growth. (An Export Tax Relief is currently prohibited under EU law. However, the primacy of UK domestic fiscal policy can be seen in the UK’s ability to introduce the Patent Box, and retain the Patent Box even when some other EU member states sought to have it abolished because they deemed it to be unfair).
  6. PEGI, the European game content rating system, should end its punitive pricing policy. PEGI’s current policy is to charge a developer a fee for content rating every time it launches a game on a different console platform, even if the content is exactly the same. Charging fees for the same content should be stopped to save developers’ money.
  7. Policy makers should pursue a common global regulatory approach towards ‘free to play’ (F2P) games and in-app purchases (IAPs) based on the Office of Fair Trading’s (now Competition and Markets Authority) Principles for Online and App-based Games. This will enable UK games businesses to compete on a level playing field and ensure the effective protection of UK consumers.

 

– ends –

About the Cole Review

For information about the Cole Review, see http://press.labour.org.uk/post/100153578249/ed-balls-launches-cole-review-of-british-exports

 

About TIGA

TIGA is the network for games developers and digital publishers and trade association representing the UK videogame industry. We help developers and digital publishers build successful studios, network with the right people, save money and access professional business advice. We also have traditional publishers, outsourcing companies, technology businesses and universities amongst our membership.

TIGA is 90% funded by independent UK businesses. 80% of our board members are developers and/or from UK owned businesses, and 50% of our board are UK business owners themselves. Since 2010, TIGA has won 20 business awards. TIGA focuses on three sets of activities:

  • Political representation
  • Media representation
  • Business services

This enhances the competitiveness of our members by providing benefits that make a material difference to their businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial opportunities. It also means our members’ voices are heard in the corridors of power and positively represented in national, broadcast and UK video game trade media. Get in touch:

For further information, you can also contact:

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