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GAME OVER? ; ACTIVISION CHIEF THREATENS TO QUIT UK OVER TAX ROW [Sunday Telegraph (UK)](Sunday Telegraph (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ACTIVISION Blizzard, the world's biggest publisher of video games, has described Britain's move to scrap tax relief for the industry a "terrible mistake" and refused to rule out moving its UK operations elsewhere. The US company employs around 600 highly-skilled developers and other staff at its British satellite office in Slough, Berkshire. "I think it was a terrible mistake," said Bobby Kotick, Activision's chief executive. "There are so many other places that are encouraging the video games industry." The warning came as Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops last week raced past the $1bn (Pounds 642m) mark in sales to become the biggest-selling video game of 2010. In June, George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, used the emergency Budget to scrap proposals for tax relief introduced by Alistair Darling, dismissing them as "poorly targeted" in spite of Conservative and Liberal Democrat pre-election promises to support the relief. However, Mr Kotick said the UK was full of talented developers, and that the relief was much needed. Countries such as China and Singapore, as well as individual US states, are offering tax incentives to lure video game developers and publishers such as Activision, the majority of whose staff are employed in the US. The criticism comes at an awkward time for the coalition Government, which faces increasing pressure to find ways to kindle growth in the economy, while trying to tackle the country's record budget deficit through a mix of spending cuts and tax rises. TIGA, a trade body representing the video games industry in the UK, has said that Britain risks an exodus of the brightest video game developers to countries where the incentives for businesses to expand are greater. In its wish list for the new year, TIGA repeated its call for the reintroduction of tax relief -- a move it believes would secure 3,550 graduate-level jobs -- but also for investment to fund students in mathematics and computer science, as well the operation of what it called a "flexible migration policy". "For too long, the coalition Government has acted like a one- club golfer. It has had a strategy for reducing the deficit but little to say about growth," said Richard Wilson, chief executive of TIGA. "The video game sector offers opportunities for growth and high value, high technology job creation for the UK." In the past two years there has been a 9pc fall in the UK games industry, with investment falling from Pounds 458m to Pounds 417m, according to TIGA. (c) 2011 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |