TIGA: Back the Creative Industries, Not Just Traditional Industries

By January 29, 2010 Press Releases

TIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry, said today that the Government should invest resources in all creative industries with potential, rather than just traditional business sectors.

TIGA made the comments following the announcement by the Government that it intends to give a tax break to oil companies opening up offshore oil and gas fields in the region west of Shetland. The tax allowance will be worth up to £160 million per field.

Richard Wilson, CEO of TIGA, said:

“The Government is right to encourage oil companies to exploit the UK’s oil and gas reserves through a sector specific tax break. After the release of the miserable statistics for the fourth quarter of 2009 showing that the economy grew by a pathetic 0.1 per cent, it is crucial that the Government takes action on two fronts. Firstly, the Government must avoid adding to the tax burden on UK businesses, including games businesses. This would only harm their competitiveness and stymie their potential for growth. Secondly, the Government must encourage growth across a wide range of industries, including the creative industries, through sector specific tax breaks and more generous R&D tax credits.””

Jason Kingsley, Chairman of TIGA and CEO and Creative Director at Rebellion Studios, said:

“Just as the Government backs sectors like the film industry and the oil industry with tax breaks, so it should invest in the games industry through Games Tax Relief. The UK Government must support the creative industries in general, and the video games sector in particular, as part of a process of rebalancing the UK economy away from an excessive dependency on financial services.””

ENDS

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: Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO on: 0845 0941095; Mob: 07875 939643; or Email richard.wilson@tiga.org, or, Eva Field, TIGA PR Manager on: 07814 039 983, or email eva@tiga.org.

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