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UK Video Game Tax Cuts Sabotaged?
ninjacheeseburger writes "Develop recently published an article claiming that the UK government was put under pressure by one of the biggest game companies in the world to cancel planned tax breaks for video game developers. This company had apparently viewed game tax relief as a measure that would have given the UK an unfair advantage over other nations."
from above TFS: "from the i-wonder-if-it-rhymes-with-shmactivision dept. "
... wait, what?
really?.. they wouldnt be the first country to put tax breaks in for creative sectors.. seems like the Other countries already have the unfair advantage over the UK.. this would be more like leveling the field.
Yes, that is another guess but so far its all just guesses. And I would question if it really is Activision since they are owned by Vivendi which is based in France so they might have something to gain with a closer tax break zone. EA on the other hand is only a US company so would have more to lose in theory.
Attention... all grammer nazi"s! Is they're anything; wrong with: my post,
The economy is bankrupting the UK. Fark puts it succinctly: "Facing a massive budget deficit, the UK to cut welfare, increase the VAT to 20 percent, and impose a new tax on anyone who brings one of those damn vuvuzelas back from the World Cup". Chancellor George Osborne is doing what all countries should do in that situation but are afraid to do, due to the unlikelihood of reelection. The country is damn near bankruptcy, the whole European continent is over-leveraged on debt and Britain is doing their best to make an example by balancing their budget. Tax handouts to the entertainment industry don't help balance the budget. Insert snarky comment about US legislators growing some balls and balancing our budget here...
Here's some more info on the subject:
from the NYT http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/23/world/europe/23britain.html?hpw
moox. for a new generation.
The UK did give the Games industry a tax cut; small businesses and large businesses received a massive break in terms of what they have to pay. All this games tax relief would have done is given large UK games companies a third tax cut.
Currently they don't have to pay NI on the first 10 employees, pay less tax before they are up to corp' tax levels, and even when paying corporation tax they have to pay less than any other western country.
The story doesn't make any sense, frankly.
They didn't bother to name "who" opposed/sabotaged the tax break, even though the only entity which could oppose it, according to the gist of the article, would be an outside entity, because only an outside entity would imply an unfair advantage towards UK gaming companies. But why would the outside entity not be named, if it is a UK article about UK gaming companies? How could an external company actually persuade UK politicians that it would be an unfair advantage to UK citizens that it would be unfair for a non-UK gaming company to have tax breaks?
I'm not saying ANYTHING on whether or not the tax break would be good or not; I'm saying it doesn't make sense that an external entity exerted their "power" to persuade UK politicians that it would be bad for the UK gaming industry if they were given tax breaks. I'm saying that it only makes sense if it were a UK gaming lobby which persuaded them.
Just because the U.S. is a republic does not mean it is not a democracy. Democracy/republic are not mutually exclusive.
No, it was probably Activision/Blizzard, they're bigger than EA now, and Bobby Kotick, the CEO, is a big bully.
US only you say? This is from the article you linked. Studios all over the world including 2 in Britain. Try again. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Arts#Current
In that case, the video game industry should cut costs and make games people want to buy, yes?
Nintendo, for example, seems to be doing just fine. Maybe their strategy of expanding the market is the right way to do things, rather than expecting handouts from the government?
Clever signature text goes here.
The UK is good for exporting haggis, but India is the IT bread-basket of the West.
You're either a very good troll, or an extremely obnoxious prick. Actually, it could be a bit of both.
which is totally what she said
No, it was probably Activision/Blizzard, they're bigger than EA now, and Bobby Kotick, the CEO, is a big bully.
it's all steve jobs fault http://kotaku.com/5559201/a-delightful-chat-with-the-most-hated-man-in-video-games
Yes, because we all know objectively that [your chosen political party here] is perfect and [any other political party] are immoral scum, and would plunge the earth into darkness, illiteracy and overabundance of [insert bad thing here] if they regained power.
Am I doing it right? Perhaps not polarised enough, and I need to detach from reality a little more?
which is totally what she said
over here in the US they're telling us that increasing taxes is an economic stimulus and will create jobs, stimulate investment, and grow the economy.
Well, in the US that could be true if they continue to use taxes fund international wars, and employ everyone in the creation of bigger and better weapons.
which is totally what she said
Teenages are a dificult people because need to explore how fit on the world. Countrys are somewhat like that, because has to fit in the world. Lets look at the japanese, for a success story, from the medieval ages to industrial ones, really quickly. A country with not natural resources, but a powerfull industry. Other countrys rich in resources are poor. Countrys like Irak are poor in a way, even with the oil.
The UK not invented the videogames, but is a area where the UK culture can kick in, and be amazing. So UK is usefull to the world, and videogames are part of it. So videogames are more important for UK that what we see nowdays.
Of course, the Americans will build giganteous industries, and will bully everyone outside of the area. Maybe you have to fight that, if you want something to do in life. Leting the americans suck another industry away for thenselves, is bad for USA, is bad for UK and is bad for the world. "Blockbusters" could be a good industrial thing, but is poor enteirnament. Good production values are a nice thing to have, but what about soul? what about deep? what about FUN?. Blockbuster games are (in a way) like Soviet era buildings: devoid of life.
So UK, please, fight this battle, preserve your cultural significance here in the videogame world.
-Woof woof woof!
Unfortunately linking a Gawker site ruins any credibility, funny, troll, or serious.
We all know it was Activision, after what Kotick did to Infinity Ward I wouldn't put anything past the fucktard.
He's destroying gaming brick by brick, and he knows it. All he cares about is how much money he makes, not any love of the games, industry or any altruistic reason. When someone comes out and says that a revenue stream for the company is it's lawyers, you have to think "do I really want to hand these guys my cash?". Worst thing is, that most don't think about that. The masses now game, so gaming companies care not for the culture, but for how many poor saps they can con into buying their products.
This story has done the rounds on many a gaming site and the general consensus is that it was Activision/Blizzard who stopped this massive tax break from happening.
I know I'm getting beyond TL;DR, but it's strange that a country trying to get out of recession would can a tax break that would have far reaching positive effects in the economy. I could only imagine how many development houses would gear up for major productions in the UK should this tax break go through. Then you see the trickle down effect give the economy a boost. It may not be as big as say opening a brand new copper mine, but it'll be a bigger shot in the arm than not allowing it to go through. The tax break would be offset no doubt by other taxes gathered from higher productivity.
The only reason to put a stop to this would be due to lobbying by a company (companies) that may be adversely effected by this. Maybe Activision are scared they may lose their top devs to new British start ups, maybe they'll lose them to already established British developers who can now afford more/better devs for bigger projects. It all makes sense. Then again, we'll never know. The new UK government is just as corrupt as the previous, and the next will be the same. As with all "developed" nations, the more money you have, the more you can corrupt the parliament.
Don't you think the treasury ran the numbers on whether it was worth it? We're borrowing £500,000,000 per day for goodness sake!
Remember, the zero percent chance of sunshine is a bonus to nerds who prefer damp dank dark basements to ply their neferious trade.
Putting a game company on Hawaii is a surefire way to not get any talent what so ever. Proof? Name a single game company from a lush tropical paradise.
Nope, instead they are from the coldest frozen wasteland in the world: Canada. Nothing like sub-zero temperatures and a complete absence of sunlight for half of the year to drive a coder to his warm PC and start cranking out software.
Open a development shop on the north-pole and you will get the best MMORPG ever produced in six months time.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
The only reason to put a stop to this would be due to lobbying by a company (companies) that may be adversely effected by this
There is another alternative, and one that means the tin-foil hat can be left on its hook. Leaving in a tax break for an already profitable part of an economy would have left them open to critisism (and accusations, ironically, of underhand lobbying from the games industry), so what they've done instead is to distribute the breaks around a number of different parts of the small business economy; think of it as spreading the risk.
Thus, we have the lowering of corporation tax; potential (although I think currently undefined) breaks for companies setting up outside London and the South East; and, savings on National Insurance payments for new small businesses. VAT, which admittedly may hit the business-to-consumer games industry more than business-to-business industries, will still only add 85p to a £40 game.
Personally, I don't think the reason was lobbying. It was the realisation that they could actually use the Budget to help the entire small business economy - of which the video games companies are just a part.
Please mod parent up. I would like to encourage more US companies to outsource to India. As a UK resident, I am currently doing pretty well charging US companies ten or more times as much to fix code as the Indian companies that originally charged to write it. The more US companies outsourcing development to India, the better for the British economy.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
The UK is near bankrupt, it is involved in two wars, three if you count Ireland were the peace process is measured by the number of people killed. It is production is in shambles and the economic sector in ruins. It can't pay for its welfare or its healthcare. It politics are divived up with the conservatives now having to rule with the liberals and all this guy thinks of is to get kids playing soccer so the national team has a chance. Oh yeah, that is worth paying taxes for.
Amazing. Bread and circusses, it still seems to work.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
This is the most disingenuous horseshit I've ever read. A McDonald's employee could figure out that the big fish is trying to crowd out indie devs. It's the same way any other industry works.