Georgia Makes Tax Breaks For Game Developers A Law

Flag of the state of GeorgiaState of Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed House Bill 958 into law this week, a move that provided a host of competitiveness initiatives aimed at bringing more development and businesses to the state. Bundled among the other initiatives was a measure that provides significant tax breaks for video game developers who choose to work within the state.

According to state officials, Georgia’s game and digital media industry is growing rapidly. That growth is fueled by a comprehensive suite of business assets that Georgia is able to offer game companies, including a pipeline of creative and technical talent, competitive incentives and an affordable lifestyle.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development supports the thriving and powerful computer gaming, animation and digital media industries in Georgia with an impressive technology infrastructure, a highly-skilled workforce, and more than 15 Georgia colleges and universities offering full curriculum or computer game courses. Benefits for the game industry include a 30 percent tax credit, solid technology infrastructure, a steadily growing workforce and an established game and digital media industry.

The bill which was signed into law cements many of those benefits, including the tax breaks, in place in a move that state officials hope will bring even more developers to Georgia.

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Picture of John Breeden II
John Breeden II
As a journalist John has covered everything from rural town meetings to the U.S. Congress and even done time as a crime reporter and photographer.|His first venture into writing about the game industry came in the form of a computer column called "On the Chip Side," which grew to have over 1 million circulation and was published in newspapers in several states. From there he did several "ask the computer guy" columns in magazines such as Up Front! in New Mexico and Who Cares? in Washington D.C. When the Internet started to become popular, he began writing guided Web tours for the newly launched Washington Post online section as well as reviews for the weekend section of the paper, something he still does from time to time. His experience in trade publications came as a writer and reviewer for Government Computer News. As the editor of GiN, he demands strict editorial standards from all the writers and reviewers. Breeden feels the industry needs a weekly, reliable trade publication covering the games industry and works tirelessly to accomplish that goal.