The European Commission authorized a French tax credit aimed at e...
The European Commission authorized a French tax credit aimed at encouraging videogame creation, it said. The tax credit may be granted only to videogames that meet standards of “quality, originality and contributing to cultural diversity,” it said, adding that…
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“after an in-depth investigation that began in 2006,” it decided that the measure “qualifies for the exemption provided for by the EC Treaty for aid to promote culture.” The tax credit, approved for four years, will enable videogame manufacturers taxed in France to deduct up to 20 percent of the production costs of some games, the EC said. European game software development trade association Tiga gave the decision a thumbs up, saying it believed the credit “would be applicable to more than 50 percent of games made in Europe this year.” Tiga had supported French developers and the government in applying for support to the industry, it said, and it gave the European Commission information on state aid elsewhere and argued that the EC “needed to support its own industries in the face of market distorting state aids being applied by Canada and other territories in the world.” Separately, the provincial Viennese government voted in favor of making the Pan-European Game Information (PEGI) age rating system mandatory for videogames under the Viennese Youth Protection Act. PEGI is similar to the Entertainment Software Rating Board system in the U.S. The Austrian Entertainment Software Association was “closely involved” in the decision-making process, along with PEGI’s developer, the Interactive Software Federation of Europe, the groups said in a joint statement with the government. A final resolution is expected to be go in January from the committee of the Youth, Education, Information and Sport business group to the provincial Parliament, they said. Vienna’s amendment requires that videogames can be sold only to those of the ages they're rated for. Viennese authorities raised the subject at a Family and Youth State Consultants’ meeting to achieve a pan-Austrian agreement beyond the Youth Protection Act coordinated between Vienna, Lower Austria and the Burgenland. The amendment was based on recommendations of a task force, consisting of experts in various specialist areas as well as all parties represented on the municipal council, the government said.