Government urged to pass tax breaks to help gaming industry

Date: 18th May 2009

The government has been urged to give small businesses operating in the gaming industry a much-needed taxation break in order to prevent a 'brain drain' from the UK.

Following on from the Treasury's most recent Budget, industry body Tiga argued that not enough has been done to protect the creative gaming industry, with many small businesses suffering from high levels of taxation.

Now, the organisation's chief executive Richard Wilson has stepped up calls for Britain to follow the example of Canada, where gaming companies enjoy both tax breaks as well as faster resolution rates for immigrating specialists.

"There's no principle which the government can cling to and say there shouldn't be a tax break for a specific industry," he told the Guardian.

"Quite apart from the massive bailouts for banks, there have also been smaller schemes that have been effective for other industries."