Oklahoma Proposes Video Game Tax Break (Sorry, No Rated M)
This was a van from my family Christmas gathering. Where did this come from? Well, no other that the place where the winds come rolling down the plains: Oklahoma. The barren wasteland of the mid-west (I can say that, I'm from the area) has decided that there isn't enough to draw people to the area, so the Oklahoma state senator proposed a tax break for all developers creating video games... of non-mature titles.
"Video games" mean products that are intended for commercial use or are produced for distribution on electronic media and which include an appreciable quantity of at least three (3) of the following types of data: text, sound, fixed images, animated images and 3D geometry and which are rated or will be rated by the Entertainment Software Rating Board with the ratings of Early Childhood, Everyone, Everyone 10+ and Teen.
I'm pretty sure this means that companies like Rockstar are going to forgo creating a Oklahoma City office. This could be good news for more family friendly companies hoping to stay afloat in the crapshoot that is the current US economy.
[Sen. Sykes]... would rather not include the ratings restriction. Unfortunately, as he went around to his fellow senators asking for their support, the first question out of their mouths was whether there would be ratings restrictions.He is well aware of the [failed] game legislation of [2006] and many of the people who voted for that bill are still in office and were some of the people who demanded the restriction...
He also raised some concerns about [possible] lobbying against the bill... His final concern was whether he could get enough support during such economic turmoil. Oklahoma is facing a budget shortfall this year and that may not make such a tax break very appealing to many people.
Proposed Oklahoma Tax Break Excludes M-Rated Games [Game Politics]
Asterick
Posted to Video Games on 26 January 2009
Other stuff like this: game development, i hear you can't even drink there, oklahoma, proposal, tax break
