TIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry, said today it welcomed the news that Don Foster, the Liberal Democrats’ Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and many of his colleagues were “sympathetic”” to TIGA’s proposed Games Tax Relief. Don Foster made the comments in an interview with gamesindustry.biz on March 17th 2010. Don Foster also said in the interview that if Games Tax Relief was introduced in the Budget on March 24th, “personally I’ll be delighted and will be doing everything I can to make sure nobody in my party proposes stripping it out again”.
Richard Wilson, CEO of TIGA, said:
“It is very encouraging to hear that leading Liberal Democrats are sympathetic to TIGA’s campaign for Games Tax Relief. It is also very positive to learn that Don Foster would oppose removing the provisions for Games Tax Relief should it be introduced in the forthcoming Budget.
“Our latest research shows that out of a range of fiscal measures that could be introduced to help the UK games industry, the introduction of Games Tax Relief is the most popular, with 85 per cent of businesses believing that it would help their business.””
Jason Kingsley, TIGA Chairman and CEO and Creative Director of Rebellion Studios said:
“TIGA has led the drive for Games Tax Relief, commissioned research to support the case and provided a substantive and detailed report on how the tax measure should be implemented. We stand ready to provide any further evidence relating to Games Tax Relief that is required by policy makers.””
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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, please contact Eva Field, TIGA PR Manager on: 07814 039 983, or email eva@tiga.org.