about talent, and making the game in question within the UK.
Previously the Chancellor said that games tax breaks were ‘poorly targeted’. What changed? That was his other concern – can you give a tax break to one sector when the converged world of TV, film, games and animation is much bigger? One tax break for games – he just wasn’t convinced. But also the economic climate at the time was on his mind. The bigger win, the bigger tax break we are moving towards, is much more attractive to him.
Preliminary Treasury figures say the games tax break fund will be £15m year one and £35m in year two. Is that accurate?
That will be part of the consultation process. The Treasury and Government will want to come to grips with the definitive costs when it comes to deciding the tax credit. Those numbers are rough costs and will be honed down during the consultation period so the Treasury is confident about the cost implication. That’s an important part of why working with Government during the consultation is important.
Will the games industry be able to argue for more? Or will we just have to make do if that £50m across two years is all that’s available?
That’s a tough call. But people need to be realistic about what the Government can afford and what we can get out of the Treasury – we mustn’t ask for the Earth.
Broadly, though, a tax break can provide an overall halo effect around the games industry, right? That’s an important point and why I’ve always supported a tax break. There are some people that argue a tax break is not fundamental to their business or it might not have an impact for online games firms, or so on. What it does definitely do over and above for all of the games industry, is prove that we have policy showing the UK Government takes the games industry seriously and wants to see investment there and is prepared to invest itself. That’s almost as important as the pounds, shillings and pence of it, even.
Ian has been key to getting the games industry’s voice heard at the highest levels.
“ Ed Vaizey, MP
ED VAIZEY might be the man in Whitehall that understands games, but the man in games that helped Whitehall understand us deserves a round of applause, says the Minister. “I want to pay tribute to Ian Livingstone,” Vaizey told MCV. “He has given himself over to the Government and on behalf of the industry. He has turned around the Department of Education and its attitude to Computer Science. He has really helped the Treasury understand games. He travels the world evangelising the games industry to anyone that will listen.” He has, Vaizey adds, been “very important in getting the games industry’s voice heard at the highest levels”.
“IN MY OPINION THERE IS ONLY ONE GAMES TRADE BODY…”
VAIZEY is full of praise for Ian Livingstone – and UKIE. Less so for TIGA. Vaizey says: “Ian and UKIE have shown that you must work with government rather than carp from the sidelines, and they have been very practical in their approach to this.”
But what about TIGA, which in fairness has had lobbying for a tax break at the heart of its
manifesto for a decade? Vaizey isn’t as free with compliments. “I haven’t seen TIGA in two years. Says it all.” You can imagine what he thinks, then, when it comes to the debate about the worth of having two UK games industry trade bodies. “As far as I am concerned there is one games trade body. It’s called UKIE.”
MAKING BRITAIN GREAT FOR GAMES
UK-produced games generated £1.7 billion in sales worldwide in 2009. As of November 2011, there were 9,000 creative staff working in almost 300 games studios. UK consumers buy the largest number of games in Europe. Almost 60 per cent of the UK population play video games, with an average age of 28. 48 per cent of video gamers are women. Over five years a games tax relief could create and protect 1,650 studio jobs and increase the games development sector’s contribution to UK GDP by £280 million.
Source: Department for Culture, Media and Sport March 30th 2012