Tiga: Tax break rejection â??a colossal mistakeâ??

Richard Wilson, the CEO of game developer association Tiga, has blasted the UK Government’s rejection of game tax breaks.

A press release sent out had outlined Tiga’s obvious disapproval of the measure, but speaking to Develop, Wilson revealed the extent in which he was dissatisfied with the snub.

“I mean, I think it’s a colossal mistake to be honest with you,” he said. “I mean, why do government ministers want to see Canada and South Korea overtake the UK’s development sector? It’s perverse isn’t it.”

Said Wilson: “I’ve just been speaking to a civil servant at the Treasury, and I asked him whether we could have done any more in our campaign for tax breaks.

“He said no. He said that the real issue was the current economic climate. He said that in the current climate it’s hard to get sector-specific measures in.”

Wilson stated that Tiga will keep on fighting for game development tax breaks. He believes that the argument for them will only get stronger, and the economy has to improve, and Tiga’s voice will still be heard on the issue.

“It’s all very well that the government says that it feels our pain that Canada is getting our workforce and business with its generous tax breaks, but why isn’t the government actually doing anything about it?" he asked.

"The arguments behind development tax relief were very strong, they remain very strong, and we will keep on campaigning for it.”