Tax relief boost for video games studios in Leamington

Warwick and Leamington MP Chris White has praised the EU Commission’s approval of tax relief for ‘Silicon Spa’.
Ed Vaizey, the UK Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries visited Warwickshire College's Trident Centre With Chris White MP last year. The two are pictured witht F.D.A. degree students Emmily Hassett, Richard Hawkins, Alex Inwood and Kieren  and principal Mariane Cavalli.Ed Vaizey, the UK Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries visited Warwickshire College's Trident Centre With Chris White MP last year. The two are pictured witht F.D.A. degree students Emmily Hassett, Richard Hawkins, Alex Inwood and Kieren  and principal Mariane Cavalli.
Ed Vaizey, the UK Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries visited Warwickshire College's Trident Centre With Chris White MP last year. The two are pictured witht F.D.A. degree students Emmily Hassett, Richard Hawkins, Alex Inwood and Kieren and principal Mariane Cavalli.

The commission last week gave full approval to a generous tax relief for the UK video games industry.

With around 1,200 people working in video game studios in and around Leamington, the changes will be a welcome boost for business, and are the result of a seven year campaign by TIGA, the association for games developers and digital publishers.

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It will lead to an estimated £188m in additional investment for the UK’s game developers over the next five years, with the aim of helping the UK to be at the forefront of video games production.

Mr White has been supporting the campaign - arranging and hosting a number of studio visits by culture minister Ed Vaizey last year.

He has also raised awareness of the issue in Parliament.

He said: “This is fantastic news for local video games producers and the wider industry. It has been rewarding to be part of the campaign and to see the quality of developers in the constituency. I am pleased that the EU Commission reached this outcome, and look forward to seeing the continued success of businesses in our area.”

The relief enables companies to be eligible for a payable tax credit worth 25 per cent of qualifying production costs, and builds on the successful model of the film tax relief.

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