Broadband tax

January 27th 2009

Tiga today warned the Government against introducing a ‘Broadband tax’ on UK consumers and businesses and condemned the idea as an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ tax policy.

Richard Wilson, CEO of Tiga, said:

“The idea that a universal tax on broadband bills should be imposed in order to compensate entertainment companies for losses incurred from piracy and illegal downloads is wrong in principle. Innocent people should not be required to pay heavier broadband bills because of the activities of criminals.

“The suggested policy is also wrong on practical grounds. The tax could generate perverse behaviour: individuals would have a stronger incentive to illicitly download material if they were required to pay this putative tax.

“Government policy should aim to provide broadband - an essential part of modern business infrastructure - at the lowest possible price to consumers and businesses. The last thing that UK businesses need in the current economic climate is another tax. We need to be lifting the tax burden, not adding it to it. We need to leave businesses with more money for investment, not less. A Broadband tax makes no sense. It is the tax policy of Alice in Wonderland.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

1. Tiga is the national trade association that represents games developers in the UK and in Europe. The majority of are members are either independent games developers or in-house publisher owned developers. We also have outsourcing companies, technology businesses and university departments amongst our membership.

2. Tiga's vision is to make the UK the best place in the world to do games business. We focus on three sets of activities: political representation, generating media coverage and developing services that enhance the competitiveness of our members. This means that Tiga members are effectively represented in the corridors of power, their voice is heard in the media and they receive benefits that make a material difference to their businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial opportunities.

3. For further information, please contact: Dr Richard Wilson, Tiga CEO on: 0845 0941095; Mob: 07875 939643; or: Email: richard.wilson@tiga.org. Or contact Steff Rickwood, Tiga’s Project Manager, at steff.rickwood@tiga.org