Creative industries told they ‘must be ahead of the game’ on tax discussions

By GARETH MACKIE
Published on 27/06/2012 00:00

Scotland’s creative industries were today urged to make their voices heard and respond to a Treasury consultation on future tax breaks.

Dougy Agnew, tax partner at accountancy firm Henderson Loggie, said tax relief for the movie industry had led to increased investment in British cinema, and he was keen to see Scotland’s animators and video game creators reap similar benefits.

He said: “As advisers to the games industry, we want clients to fully engage with this consultation and so keep up pressure for similar assistance to what is one of Scotland’s strongest business sectors.”

The video games industry employs more than 1,500 people across Scotland and is worth £30 million a year to the economy.

Chancellor George Osborne used his Budget announcement in March to unveil plans to introduce corporation tax relief for the video games, animation and high-end television industry from April next year, effectively restoring a measure that he scrapped in 2010.

The UK government wants the relief to build on a similar model for the film industry, which has supported over £1 billion of investment in more than 200 movies.

However, Agnew said the proposed model for the games sector may deny firms the ability to claim for tax relief on research and development costs, because they would not be able to claim for the corporation tax relief at the same time.

The Treasury’s consultation on creative sector tax breaks was launched last week and runs until September.