Tiga welcomes Tories' tax slashing plan

Tiga has welcomed the latest policy proposals by the UK's Conservative Party, which aims to ease the tax burden on small and medium-sized enterprises

Richard Wilson, CEO of Tiga, claimed the tax cutting plan would help the region's games industry to "flourish" and called for the government to follow suit.

"Measures to cut the tax burden on business in general and on games developers in particular, are welcome," said Wilson.

"The Conservatives' proposals to enable SMEs to delay their quarterly VAT payments for up to six months, to reduce employers' national insurance contributions by one per cent for up to six months (for those businesses with fewer than five employees), to cut corporation tax from 28p to 25p and to reverse the planned increase in the small companies' rate from 20p to 22p are encouraging."

"Over time, UK businesses and developers will flourish best in a low tax environment," he added. "We hope that the Government will take steps in this direction in the forthcoming Pre-Budget Report."

However, Wilson warned that the proposed plans for apprenticeships to promote training could end up hindering the industry more than it helps.

"The Conservative’s focus on boosting apprenticeships is too restrictive," Wilson explained. "The apprenticeship model is not ideal for every sector of the UK economy. Games developers need more graduates, particularly in computer science, mathematics and physics. Many games developers already employ highly qualified teams."

"Their current and future training requirements will not typically be met by embarking on apprenticeships. There may also be good vocational courses and training programmes other than apprenticeships that would help game developers and improve the skills of their workforce.”