Video games sector did not suffer from loss of tax breaks - MPs

THERE is no evidence the loss of tax breaks for the video games industry has been harmful, according to a report by the Scottish affairs committee at Westminster.

The surprise conclusion comes despite the fact the committee is the only one in the Commons without a coalition government majority.

The inquiry was set up as a means of attacking Chancellor George Osborne's decision to renege on a pledge to keep the tax break for an industry largely based in Dundee. One Labour MP said: "We have shot ourselves in the foot. The whole point of this inquiry was to embarrass the government, but instead we've embarrassed ourselves."

Richard Wilson, of video games industry body Tiga, said: "This is astonishing - the evidence is there that we need the tax break.

"In the UK, the industry has shrunk 10 per cent without a tax break, while in Canada, it has increased by 33 per cent with a tax break."