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British Columbia warns on Montreal tax incentives

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This Canadian newspaper report warns that the British Columbian games development industry is being damaged by (considerable) tax breaks offered in Quebec to companies that set up development studios there. Those in BC are worried that, unsurprisingly, all the talent's upping sticks and setting up in Montreal.

"We would love to see the BC government step up and provide more incentives along the lines of what is offered in Quebec," said Josh Holmes, Propaganda Games VP, based in British Columbia.

The reason developers flock to Montreal isn't hard to understand. The Quebec government offered tax breaks of up to 50 percent on multimedia development in 1997, meaning huge studios have risen in Montreal in recent years from companies such as Ubisoft and EA. That percentrage was pulled back to 37.5 percent in 2003, but the lure is still, obviously, very strong.

Well worth a read.

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Patrick Garratt

Founder & Publisher (Former)

Patrick Garratt is a games media legend - and not just by reputation. He was named as such in the UK's 'Games Media Awards', the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award. After garnering experience on countless gaming magazines, he joined Eurogamer and later split from that brand to create VG247, putting the site on the map with fast, 24-hour a day coverage, and assembling the site's earliest editorial teams. He retired from VG247, and the games industry, in 2017.

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