EU approves tax breaks for developers
The European Commission has approved film industry tax breaks to the video game industry. The request was made by the French government and the program will offer a 20% rebate to games that have a "criteria of quality, originality and contribute to cultural diversity." It is estimated that half of the games created in Europe this year would have qualified for the rebate. There's obviously some easy French jokes that could be tossed in here, but let's build bridges, shall we?
Governments recognizing games as "culture" and supporting the industry with tax incentives is an issue that's popping up with developers all over the world. Canada is kind to developers, while Australian developers (last time we heard) continue to fight for tax breaks in their country where the film industry actually gets a 40% tax rebate. The countries which cut the costs, promote the industry and look yummy to developers already strapped for cash.
