UK Govt: Video Game Industry Not "Compelling"
Treasury states that industry job losses will go to other sectors.
ELSPA's Michael Rawlinson
Following the UK Government's rejection of tax breaks for the games industry, ELSPA director-general Michael Rawlinson spoke of how Treasury officials told him that the evidence for tax incentives was not “sufficiently compelling”.
With the Government's Pre-Budget Report (PBR) snubbing the games sector altogether, Rawlinson told GamesIndustry that he wasn't surprised at the outcome; “The Treasury has a fundamental dislike for sector-specific tax measures, so we went saying 'games industry, we're different from everybody else', and that goes against their fundamentals.”
When pressed for an explanation to the PBR rejection, the Treasury told Rawlinson that it disagreed with the argument that “if fiscal measures weren't put in place, the industry would decline and the skilled workforce would leave the British economy.”
“If there were 3,000 jobs lost to Canada that was 3,000 people that were no longer going to be employed in the UK. And the Treasury said they didn't believe that would be the case", Rawlinson explained. “They thought a reasonable proportion of those people would go and find other jobs using their skills in the British economy. Therefore the overall effect to the British economy would not be so devastating.”
It's a rather cavalier attitude to take, given that job losses are expected to peak at 2.8 million in 2010. There has been a lot of activity in support of games industry tax breaks in the past, with Tiga chairman Richard Wilson recently outlining a plan that would benefit the economy and stave off redundancies.
Rawlinson said that the tax proposal is “not dead” but “it won't be happening for a while given the current economic climate”, stating that the package may have to be modified to include 'animation, TV and film'. In any case, ELSPA is looking for alternative solutions. "We can't be fixated on just one solution... The Government are investing in our sector and in videogames directly and we need to look at ways we can extract more value from that relationship", says Mr Rawlinson.
With the Government's Pre-Budget Report (PBR) snubbing the games sector altogether, Rawlinson told GamesIndustry that he wasn't surprised at the outcome; “The Treasury has a fundamental dislike for sector-specific tax measures, so we went saying 'games industry, we're different from everybody else', and that goes against their fundamentals.”
When pressed for an explanation to the PBR rejection, the Treasury told Rawlinson that it disagreed with the argument that “if fiscal measures weren't put in place, the industry would decline and the skilled workforce would leave the British economy.”
“If there were 3,000 jobs lost to Canada that was 3,000 people that were no longer going to be employed in the UK. And the Treasury said they didn't believe that would be the case", Rawlinson explained. “They thought a reasonable proportion of those people would go and find other jobs using their skills in the British economy. Therefore the overall effect to the British economy would not be so devastating.”
It's a rather cavalier attitude to take, given that job losses are expected to peak at 2.8 million in 2010. There has been a lot of activity in support of games industry tax breaks in the past, with Tiga chairman Richard Wilson recently outlining a plan that would benefit the economy and stave off redundancies.
Rawlinson said that the tax proposal is “not dead” but “it won't be happening for a while given the current economic climate”, stating that the package may have to be modified to include 'animation, TV and film'. In any case, ELSPA is looking for alternative solutions. "We can't be fixated on just one solution... The Government are investing in our sector and in videogames directly and we need to look at ways we can extract more value from that relationship", says Mr Rawlinson.
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Comments
Andy P 22 Dec 2009 16:00
1/3
Given that the British games industry was built on a reputation of going it alone and being successful despite not being massive, appealing for tax breaks is a measure of how far the industry has already fallen. Why should games get tax breaks? They are no different to any other business.
Serpream 23 Dec 2009 13:01
2/3
Bloody hell these people are far to old to excist in a modern world.
“If there were 3,000 jobs lost to Canada that was 3,000 people that were no longer going to be employed in the UK. And the Treasury said they didn't believe that would be the case",
ye thats why as a fully qualified Games Designer all jobs are now posistioned outside the UK in such countrys as france, canada and austrailia that all offer tax breaks!
The UK tax is far too high and the cost of development is ever increasing with the technology and worst of all, they dont see any porift until the game itself is finished and published. So add around 17% tax ontop of something that costs around 2 mllion plus! I can tell you for a fact Mass Effect wouldnt excist if it was developed in UK. What the goverment fails to realise is the UK is merely a side note for the Games Industry. They either employ elsehwhere or even just hire a smaller company outside UK to do the dirty bits of development.
I have been stuck in UK yet travel the world frequently Job hunting. The employement abilitys overseas are massivly more open where as the UK is like a kid hiding his candy only sharing to those who offer more in return.
“If there were 3,000 jobs lost to Canada that was 3,000 people that were no longer going to be employed in the UK. And the Treasury said they didn't believe that would be the case",
ye thats why as a fully qualified Games Designer all jobs are now posistioned outside the UK in such countrys as france, canada and austrailia that all offer tax breaks!
The UK tax is far too high and the cost of development is ever increasing with the technology and worst of all, they dont see any porift until the game itself is finished and published. So add around 17% tax ontop of something that costs around 2 mllion plus! I can tell you for a fact Mass Effect wouldnt excist if it was developed in UK. What the goverment fails to realise is the UK is merely a side note for the Games Industry. They either employ elsehwhere or even just hire a smaller company outside UK to do the dirty bits of development.
I have been stuck in UK yet travel the world frequently Job hunting. The employement abilitys overseas are massivly more open where as the UK is like a kid hiding his candy only sharing to those who offer more in return.
Dreadknux 23 Dec 2009 18:08
3/3
Andy P wrote:
Given that the British games industry was built on a reputation of going it alone and being successful despite not being massive, appealing for tax breaks is a measure of how far the industry has already fallen. Why should games get tax breaks? They are no different to any other business.
You could ask the same thing about the UK Film Industry. Compare the games industry and the film industry, and you might get some sort of answer.