Helsinki, 21/03/2012: After years of intense discussions, the UK Chancellor George Osborne today announced the UK games development sector would benefit from similar tax break measures that benefit the film industry.
“Representing roughly 40% of Europe’s development sector, The UK is Europe’s main hub for video game creation, commented Guillaume de Fondaumière, Chairman of the EGDF. If you consider the pace at which studios were closing down and talents relocating outside of Europe in the past few years, I think it is not exaggerated to say the UK games sector was facing a tangible risk of collapsing.
This would have provoked in turn the fall down of the entire European development sector. With this in mind, I think today is indeed an important day not only for the UK, but for Europe as whole.
Provided the DG competition confirms games can indeed continue to benefit from such sector specific measures – a decision that we now expect early April -, the UK would be the second country in Europe to implement tax breaks for video games after France. I’m convinced that other EU countries will now follow the move, creating a true dynamic that will propel Europe back to the top. Only together can we beat tax heavens such as Canada.
I would like to congratulate Richard Wilson and TIGA for this much deserved success, which has come after years of hard work”.