Mass. bill proposes stepping up state's game dev incentives
With EA set to break ground for a new facility at LSU, and Gameloft considering similar "endeavors" in New Orleans, Louisiana legislatures have got to be feeling good about the allure of the state's Digital Interactive Media Credit. 1500 miles to the northeast, Massachusetts is considering enacting similar tax incentives for game developers through a bill filed earlier this year by Rep. Vincent Pedone.
As the bill, affectionately known as "H03301," continues to kick around the Mass. Legislature, representatives of specialty tax services provider Alliantgroup take a look at its proposed "rewards" on Develop. While subject to alteration, the current draft of the bill proposes significant tax credits for both labor- and production-based costs incurred by large and small game-related companies alike, including a potential credit for a "promotional logo of the commonwealth of Massachusetts" placed on a game. In other words, stamp a game with a "Made in Massachusetts" logo (as Alliantgroup dubs it) and a company could earn up to a $75,000 annual credit under the bill's current stipulations.
Of course, the bill has yet to be put to a vote by state lawmakers, who can ill afford to sleep on it for long if they want to keep pace in the "quest" to win over the game industry. In addition to Louisiana, Alliantgroup identifies 16 other "game-friendly" states, including neighboring Rhode Island, which last year lured away Curt Shilling's 38 Studios from Mass.
["Made in Massachusetts" logo source: Massachusetts Bay Trading Co, Inc.]
