On April 15,[1] Georgia passed a law[2] amending its tax code to provide a limited tax credit to qualified interactive entertainment companies. The law provides incentives for mid-size game developers who demonstrate sufficient ties to Georgia. Qualified interactive entertainment companies are those that:
- maintain a physical business location in Georgia
- have a total aggregate payroll of $500,000 in a taxable year or more for employees working in Georgia
- have a gross income less than $100 million in a taxable year and
- are approved by the Georgia Department of Economic Development as engaged in qualified production activities related to interactive entertainment.[3]
Under the law, the total amount of aggregate tax credits is not to exceed $25 million for a given year.[4] Sorry, this is the aggregate limit, not the credit available to each company.
When planning operations, game developers may want to consider states in the U.S. (like Georgia) and favorable locations abroad that provide tax or investment incentives to the game industry. More on this later!
[1] See http://www.times-herald.com/local/20140414-incentives2014-04-14T11-01-31. See also http://www.businessinsider.com/georgia-tax-break-on-game-developer-2014-4; http://venturebeat.com/2014/04/15/southern-comfort-georgia-deals-out-25m-in-tax-breaks-to-game-developers/.
[2] See https://gov.georgia.gov/sites/gov.georgia.gov/files/related_files/document/143729.pdf.
[3] See https://gov.georgia.gov/sites/gov.georgia.gov/files/related_files/document/143729.pdf, p. 1 ll. 19-26.