Scottish Parliamentarian On Irish Tax Break Proposal

It's been a couple of weeks since Sir Gerry Robinson proposed to the Irish government to offer tax incentives for Scottish-based video game developers.

Talking at the Global Irish Economic Forum, Sir Robinson said it would benefit Ireland's economy tremendously if the country offered tax breaks, something the UK government has failed to come to an agreement on.

Although TIGA has been lobbying the government about a nationwide tax break, talk of Scottish publishers raised alarm bells in the industry as Scotland's talent ranks third in the world for videogame development.

Speaking to IncGamers, MSP Michael Russell; Minister for Culture, External Affairs and Constitution, said that half the problem is not having fiscal autonomy over Scotland's financial affairs, which makes it difficult to offer local companies any incentive to stay.

"Without fiscal autonomy, the Scottish Parliament does not have the powers to alter the tax system, currently that can only be done in Westminster," said Russell.

Despite these incentives, Russell did say that Scottish developers were still opting to stay in Scotland.

"I am pleased that many companies that are based here are choosing to stay here, despite the financial incentives that might be on offer elsewhere.  We are committed to supporting them and creating the infrastructure to enable to them to thrive."

When asked what the Scottish Parliament could do now, Russell said that it needed to "[a]ct in partnership with the industry" and talk to the UK government about securing full fiscal powers so as to "respond to the needs of our industry."

It's a tall order, especially as more and more UK based developers are closing because of lack of funding. It seems that the Scottish government is keen to keep ahead of the game (excuse the pun) and competition making Scotland a one-stop shop for development. 

And with the University of Abertay Dundee being the first university in the world to offer an MSc in Computer Games Technology in 1997, Scotland has become a Mecca for videogames developers, harbouring a large talent pool.

"Talent is critical to the games industry in Scotland so any loss of talent is of great concern. The attraction and retention of talent is therefore critical to the future success of the industry and clearly, we want to attract and keep talented developers here in Scotland," Russell added.

We've contacted both the UK government, Scottish developers and the University of Abertay for comments and will update you with any further developments. We'll also be posting the full interview with MSP Michael Russell later today, so be sure to check back later.

And for those of you who want to know more about what Scotland is doing to support its creative industry, you can check out Scotland's Creative Industries Partnership.