2010 Budget - scrapping the industry's tax credits. Thread

Telegraph.co.uk

The most short sighted and idiotic thing I've seen this government do. The rest of the measures I agree with, but that one is completely daft. Especially when the industry accounts for some £1 billion of the economy (more than the TV and Movie industry in the UK - who still get tax credits might I add...). France, Germany, Australia, Canada and some US states all offer tax breaks to the industry.

I'd hoped that we might finally get somewhere with this new government, and we'd left behind stupidity such as this. As much as Harriet Harman's screeching like a Darlek amused me.

I don't really see why they make all these cuts and then think it a good idea to give married couples money for being married. The industry really needs all the help it can get in the UK if it is to become truly valuable - seems more essential than married couples to me.

Edited by: 8472

A little late finding this post, but here's how I see it.
Cigarettes, Alcohol and video games all fall into the governmental class of things which give people great pleasure and are an ingrained part of human culture which we can't do without. Also, they've all been unanimously considered " detrimental " and harmful to our well being ( especially to our dear children ). The industry is an easy target, simple as that.

Edited by: jjawinte

Unlike cigarettes and alcohol however, video games are one of the UK's biggest exports. By making it more profitable to be in the UK, they can hold on to the industry that already exists, rather than having it all slowly trickle away (either through companies moving, or simply falling apart, which we've seen a LOT of over the past couple of years already) to other nations like Canada, which support their creative industries.

Agreed sir. Here in New York ( especially ) due to the desperate fiscal budget crisis, the state's hitting all companies hard without discretion and they're simply getting the hell out or forced to shut down altogether. Years of greed and mismanagement are basically forcing the govt. to cut their own proverbial throats for what they can get now, regardless of the solid , long term revenues these industries would supply. Hell, a new " sin " tax of $1.60 per pack on cigarettes just pushed the retail price to $10.00 + for a pack...and people are paying it. The same formula applies to the UK gaming industry. They'll sacrifice long term growth and revenues on the same principle that consumers will just suck it up. Simple economics predicts that soon, developers will do better to import into the UK in the effort to maintain a viable bottom line.

We've been importing for a long time... and we import more than we export, at least in the case of the UK. The last 20 years or so we've pretty much shafted ourselves for what we do in terms of manufacturing, and core skills, and the last government wasn't exactly brilliant with its choices of economic insentives, and was more than happy to outsource to cheaper places.

Either way.. Clegg (Deputy PM) has an e-mail going his way, as hes my constituency MP after all.

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Iron Wolf Studios

^ This is pretty much bang on. These days in the games industry, you see a lot more jobs advertised towards you based in Europe, Canada and sometimes Australia. Heck, I'm even working for a company based in Turkey, because they'll actually match my rates.