UK Treasury opens games tax breaks consultation

The UK Treasury has today opened a new consultation period for the recently proposed tax relief for the games development, animation and television industries.

The consultation seeks input from UK developers on the make-up of each sector’s tax breaks system. The Government has made a call for ‘general views’ on the proposed tax-relief policy design, and also seeks answers to specific a number of specific questions laid out in a document on the consultation, which is available direct from the Treasury’s official website.

The Government insists it is devoted to ensuring that the proposed reliefs are consistent with fiscal sustainability and deliver additional investment without ‘unnecessarily distorting behaviour or adding undue complexity to the tax system in a way that is consistent with fiscal sustainability’.

"I want the UK to remain a world leader in the creative industries, that’s why I am announcing tax reliefs that will be among the most generous available anywhere," UK Chancellor of the Exchequer in a statement to the press.

"High-end TV, animation and video games production are exactly the kind of innovative, high-tech industries at which this country excels, and the Government is determined to support them as part of our efforts to grow this economy."

The consultation period will also see the UK Government strive to establish industry focused a working groups for each of the three highlighted, including the games development space.

The working groups will operate at official level bring members together with a view to progress the policy design of the forthcoming tax reliefs.

Those interested in becoming a working group member can do so by emailing the Treasury identifying which group they would like to be a member and listing their current position.

Emails must arrive with the Treasury by by Friday, 22nd June this year.

Tax breaks for the UK games industry were announced at the UK Budget Address earlier this year, following consultation with the industry

The breaks are set to introduce corporation tax reliefs for the video games and related industries from April 2013, subject to State aid approval.

The Government has proposed that the reliefs build on the established film tax relief model, which serves to sustain the production of culturally British films. In the year long period covering 2009 and 2010 the film industry relief provided around £95 million of support to the UK film industry, supporting over £1 billion of investment in 208 films.