SNP calls for action on games tax credit

The Scottish National Party (SNP) has called on the coalition government to include the long-planned games industry tax relief in its emergency budget next month.

It emerged today that the new Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition intends to put the Games Tax Relief, which was included in the last Budget statement in March, on hold while it prioritises other areas.

In response, the SNP's Joe FitzPatrick has written to chancellor George Osborne, secretary of state for business Vince Cable and culture secretary Jeremy Hunt calling on them to include the measure in the emergency budget on June 22.

FitzPatrick, the MSP for Dundee West, said that "any tax relief granted would be extremely small in comparison to the return on the investment, and would be a big step in the recovery of our economy".

Richard Wilson, chief executive of trade body TIGA, said that Fitzpatrick knows from "firsthand experience" just how important the games industry is to the UK economy.

"Dundee is a centre of video games excellence, ranging from Abertay University to innovative Scottish games businesses such as 4J Studios, Cohort Studios, Denki, Digital Goldfish, Dynamo Games, Proper Games, Realtime Worlds, Tag Games and TPLD," said Wilson.

"Joe Fitzpatrick is right to note that the video games industry, if supported through Games Tax Relief, can help drive the economic recovery. With this policy enacted, the video games industry has the potential to create more highly skilled jobs, generate increased export earnings and invest in further ground-breaking research and development."

Also welcoming FitzPatrick's backing, Denki managing director Colin Anderson said that the games sector is "just the kind of industry that the new coalition government should be supporting".

He added: "We are a knowledge-based industry, employ highly skilled people, engage in cutting-edge research and development, and we export our games all over the world.

"If Games Tax Relief is implemented then our sector can play a vital role in rebalancing the economy away from an over-reliance on financial services."