25% Tax Relief for British games developers

[removeduser_487563287433]

http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/as2012_chapter_2.pdf

UK games developers are to receive a 25% tax relief on corporation tax according to today's Autumn Statement. Good news in an otherwise depressing document.

The Chancellor has described this support to be among "the most generous in the world".

With the British games industry producing £1 bn of our GDP and the market expanding rapidly, for me this represents a very timely measure that will help the economy and help us dominate an industry we have already been punching above our weight on for decades.

[neoptolemos]

Smart move.
You can tell if you visit a HMV store......

[King Gambrinus]

Ok great, doesn't mean George Osborne is now some sort of genius. He is not fit to run the country's finances. He'll be gone by the next election, as he makes an excellent scapegoat.

[removeduser_487563287433]

Ok great, doesn't mean George Osborne is now some sort of genius.

[Menelik_I]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/as2012_chapter_2.pdf

UK games developers are to receive a 25% tax relief on corporation tax according to today's Autumn Statement. Good news in an otherwise depressing document.

The Chancellor has described this support to be among "the most generous in the world".

With the British games industry producing £1 bn of our GDP and the market expanding rapidly, for me this represents a very timely measure that will help the economy and help us dominate an industry we have already been punching above our weight on for decades.

Dominate the market is overly optimistic, the industry is worth $67 billion in 2012 ... you are kind of at least £10 bn off the mark and I don't understand what the "pushing over your weight" means in practical terms.

But in any case there is promise in this industry, but at the end of the day it is about good games and targeting the audience, Gaming industry is infamous for massive flops.

A series of new reports from DFC Intelligence forecasts that the global market for video games is expected to grow from $67 billion in 2012 to $82 billion in 2017

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaud...llion-by-2017/

[Lord Baal]

Respectively, expect a rise of about the 25% of the prices of the games for no reason whatsoever.

[removeduser_487563287433]

Respectively, expect a rise of about the 25% of the prices of the games for no reason whatsoever.

Why? Why would they raise prices when costs have gone down?

[Imperial]

The same reason publishers price PC games like consoles, greed.

[removeduser_487563287433]

... okay. Doesn't sound like a rational view to me, but you're entitled to it.

[Thorn777]

Rational and the modern day economy?

[removeduser_487563287433]

What?

[Thorn777]

Ok lemme spell it out for you. There are many things highly irrational going on in the economy. So Its not a shocker economics one-o-one isnt always playing out in a one-o-one way.

There is a form of rational everywhere and always, in many cases personal greed in adjuncture with other persons greed, making it possible for a company and/or country to be ran into the ground because their personal "rational" trumps long-term micro economic or macro-economic rational.

A good example are energy prices over the last decade, where sharp decreases in oil or whatever prices where not passed down to the consumers. At least not in the nearest proportionally.

Another rational btw would be that something like that would be a catastrophe for the energy-companies, since the web of customers isnt increasing as much as the costs of energy go down, and hence forth their profits go down, which means they are shrinking, which means they are prey on the stock-markets and essentially not growing is the cardinal sin in capitalism,

So yeah "rational". Depends who's rational. Your one-o-one 1950's USA propaganda-film understanding of economics surely is just quite cute in this day and age.

Companies do with what they can get away with, not what romantic capitalist theory says they should, and key is that they can get away with allot.

[Bobz]

I thought this had already occurred? I could swear I commented on a thread here just a couple of months ago...

Good news anyway, as Ferrets said the video game industry is one of the few that is successful and growing at the moment, so encouraging more growth is of course vital. Good to have one decent thing in there, apart from scrapping the planned fuel duty rise - although actually cutting it would be better.

[Father Jack]

I thought this had already occurred? I could swear I commented on a thread here just a couple of months ago...

It was announced about 6 months ago, but made official in today's budget.

And thank got the 3p fuel duty rise will be cancelled.

[motiv-8]

So yeah "rational". Depends who's rational. Your one-o-one 1950's USA propaganda-film understanding of economics surely is just quite cute in this day and age.

It's a total mystery what this is supposed to mean directed at a Briton firmly planted in the 21st century.

But then again my 1950s USA propaganda film understanding of life certainly can't keep up with hipster attitudes.

Companies do with what they can get away with, not what romantic capitalist theory says they should, and key is that they can get away with allot.

Sheesh, I sure do hate to break up a good rant, but in almost every single industry the law of supply and demand -- such as the games industry, hey! -- actually still does apply. It's kind of why I can buy a -load of games from last year at 20 or 30 dollars.

Now Ferrets, for a question that's actually worth your time: is this different from the 'culturally significant' tax break that you discussed a little ways back? If so, do these two overlap? What's the deal?

[nemgod]

If anything they should be cutting the duty on fuel, the costs to the government from less fuel duty would be made up by people using the money they saved on petrol costs on other things like more food and luxuries. If anything the fuel costs from taxes might be having a worse effect on the economy right now than a lower taxes would make.

[Kanaric]

...

[Kanaric]

nice to see a country care about the game industry legislatively, in the US congress is so backwards and old in this manner.

Would be nice to see anti-trust legislation among other bad practices combated by the government as well. Getting rid of these exclusive contracts companies have with sports leagues would be the first thing i'd like to see them tackle.

It's a total mystery what this is supposed to mean

This person's posts in a nutshell. He has a inherent need to bash america and it must be satisfied regardless of what sense it makes. I've given up on responding to childlike posts like that.

[Prosaic Visitant]

nice to see a country care about the game industry legislatively, in the US congress is so backwards and old in this manner.

Old white men are like that.

This person's posts in a nutshell. He has a inherent need to bash america and it must be satisfied regardless of what sense it makes. I've given up on responding to childlike posts like that.

Not America in itself, just the evil aspects of your country a la let's have our government support dictators and engage in shady/plutocratic economic practises.

[Markas]

Finally Peter Molyneaux can stop making God games and just make himself a god like we knew he wanted to do all along. Like most religious releases it'll be buggy as hell though.

Hopefully we might become known for more creative output than Harry Potter, Doctor Who and other stuff I don't like.