North Carolina to provide game industry tax breaks

Jul 26, 2010

It seems as if some regions are willing to work on stimulating their local economies, and are turning to games to do it. Today the ESA reported that the North Carolina government will be providing a 15 percent tax credit on “wages and compensation for employees involved in digital media production, or the creation of a platform or engine to run such media.”

The bill signed by Governor Beverly Perdue will go into effect January 1, 2011. Naturally, the biggest recipient of these incentives will be Epic Games, but EA, Ubisoft and other developers also have a presence in the state, and will be able to take advantage of these benefits as well.

The landscape for game industry tax-breaks is an ever-changing one, and it’s nice to see new regions attempting to work with the industry, as other locations withdraw support like the United Kingdom did last month. And certainly while it’s not the most generous package in the country, with Georgia offering up to 30% and Michigan providing as much as 42%, it’ll go a long way toward providing North Carolina game developers the return on their investment they need to keep doing business and keep people employed. Not a bad way to go.

[source] ESA