OXFORD, United Kingdom, 5th February, 2010 - TIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry, today urged the Liberal Democrats to support the case for introducing Games Tax Relief for the UK video games industry. TIGA made the comments following the publication of the Liberal Democrats policy document for the creative industries, The power of creativity.

Richard Wilson, C.E.O. of TIGA, said: “We welcome the fact that the Liberal Democrats take the cultural industries seriously. Yet just as the Liberal Democrats support film tax relief for the U.K. film industry, so the Party should support Games Tax Relief for the U.K. video games industry.

“The UK video games sector is professional, experienced and competes on quality. Yet in contrast to our key competitors, the UK games industry does not benefit from generous tax breaks. Until this anomaly is addressed, the full potential of the UK video games industry will not be realised. The case for tax relief for games production should be reviewed again.”

Jason Kingsley, Chairman of TIGA and C.E.O. and Creative Director of Rebellion, said: “The Conservative Shadow Arts Minister and the House of Lords Communications Committee have made positive remarks about the case for tax relief for video game development. We welcome these developments. I urge the Liberal Democrats to back TIGA’s campaign for Games Tax Relief.”