Tiga demands tax incentive assessment
UK government tasked with establishing the effectiveness of the region's tax incentives
The UK government must do more to understand the effectiveness of tax incentives available for the videogames industry and compare it to those of other countries, says Tiga.
In particular, Richard Wilson, CEO of Tiga, asked the government to look into the impact the research and development tax credits have on specific business sectors.
"If the government is serious about supporting innovation in businesses then it must measure the effectiveness of tax incentives," Wilson explained.
"The UK tax system does not operate in a vacuum. Governments around the world are competing to establish favourable tax regimes in order to attract businesses to their jurisdictions and to promote economic growth.
"Unless the government measures the impact of its tax measures in relation to those of other countries, it will be impossible to tell whether it is assisting particular economic sectors as well as it could do."
He added: "Tiga's research shows that 31 per cent of game developers believe that the domestic tax burden in the UK is holding back their businesses.
"The government must start to measure the effectiveness of its tax system and specific tax measures on business in general and in relation to specific economic sectors in comparison to those operating in other G-20 countries.
"Benchmarking is a common business practice. It would be good to see the government adopting it."