UK games industry calls for level playing industry on tax to prevent Canadian brain drain

Nick | 20 Feb 2009, 14:36

The UK video games industry has been speaking out about its ‘brain drain’ crisis. According to industry body Tiga the UK’s best developers are being lured to Canada by “mammoth” tax breaks and incentives and is calling on UK Government to act quickly to protect domestic industry.

Estimated to be worth over $20 billion, the global gaming industry makes a significant contribution to the economy. According to ELSPA, the UK had a £4 billion slice of this last year – hence strong feeling in the UK industry to retain home grown talent.

As Tiga CEO, Richard Wilson comments, “With a tax break of this kind in place [20% for games production], an additional £220 million would be invested [in the UK], potentially creating a further 1,600 high quality jobs. This measure would cost HM Treasury – a fraction of the recent £100 billion taxpayer bailout of the UK banking system.”

Similar debates have taken place across the creative economy, in particular in international film production. The issue is the result of one the key characteristics of the creative industries – that they are relatively footloose. In the main, they rely on people with specialist skills and knowledge, rather than capital infrastructure. So, critical to helping those industries flourish is ensuring that investment is made in developing those skills and retaining talent.