Image by © Brooks Kraft/Sygma/Corbis
Britain has just announced drastic budget cuts in an attempt to raise state revenues and one industry may be hit hardest of all: the video gaming industry.
As part of the overall plan to bolster the economy the UK government announced that it wouldn’t be offering promised tax breaks for Britain’s huge gaming industry. The industry contributed about a £1 billion to the economy last year.
Reportedly, game developers are upset about how this will affect Britain’s competitive edge on other countries—an edge that has already taken a hit. Once in the top three of the worlds leading game producers, Britain was bumped out by Canada in 2007. The Canadian government, as well as the governments of Australia, South Korea and the U.S., still offers incentives for gaming developers such as subsidized salaries.
The announcement was made today by the chancellor who noted that promises of tax breaks made to the gaming industry before the last election were “poorly targeted.”
Others strongly disagree. Richard Wilson, the chief executive of the UK games industry’s trade body, Tiga, said: “The UK video games industry is export-oriented, high-tech, highly skilled and low-carbon in output. This is an industry of the future, which the government should be supporting with action, not words.” (via the Guardian)