Helsinki, April 25th 2012: On December 12th 2007, the European
Commission had accepted the French Government’s proposal to grant video games a
20% tax credit under the condition that these conform to certain cultural criteria.
The authorization was granted for a first trial period of three years, and was
to expire on December 31st 2011.
The Commission’s decision to
allow tax breaks for games in France in 2007 was an important precedent
acknowledging games as a cultural form of expression in its own right
throughout the EU.
Following France’s request for an extension of the Tax
Credit beyond 2011, the EU competition requested to evaluate the measure’s
resultsfor the period 2008-2011.
Informed by this procedure, the European Games
Developer Federation (EGDF) immediately mobilized its forces, including TIGA, the trade
association representing the UK games industry, to inform the DG
competition as well as European Members of Parliament of the imperative need to
keep this measure alive.
After a thorough
review, the EGDF is delighted to announce that the European Commission has today
decided to accept the measure’s extension until December 31st 2017.
Guillaume de
FONDAUMIERE, Chairman of the European Games Developer Federation (EGDF)
commented:
“I welcome this important resolution for our industry.
It will allow France to pursue a scheme that has proven very successful, in
particular to relocate creative forces that had left the country. But more
importantly for Europe as a whole,
I hope that this extended window will now
encourage other countries such
as the United Kingdom to quickly put in place similar measures.Through this decision, the Commission has also confirmed the legitimacy of
games as a form of cultural expression, puttingvideo games on equal footing
with films or books.”
Dr Richard Wilson, the CEO of
TIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry, said:
“This is a critical victory not just for the French games
development sector but also for the UK games development and digital publishing
industry. Together we have demonstrated that video games are economically
important, can be educational, and can be cultural products.
“TIGA successfully convinced
the UK Government to introduce a tax break for games production in the March
2012 Budget. Today’s announcement by the European Commission gives the UK the
green light to introduce this vital tax measure as soon as possible. This is a
triumph for the French, the UK and the wider European games development sectors
achieved by SNJV, TIGA and the EDGF trade associations, and I applaud the
Commission’s decision.”
End
For further information please contact Guillaume de
Fondaumière, Chairman, gdf@quanticdream.com
For further information about TIGA please contact Dr Richard Wilson,
TIGA CEO on: 07875 939 643, or email richard.wilson@tiga.org.