In today’s Boston Globe, its editors endorse a plan to offer tax incentives to video game companies. Recognizing that this sector offers significant growth potential and jobs, the Globe editorial characterizes incentives as a long-term investment:
Incentives for video game developers … could serve as an invaluable long-term incubator of talent, helping to further build up the local industry. While Greater Boston’s strengths — a wealth of top research institutions and a concentration of tech-savvy young people — are a good match for the industry’s needs, other jurisdictions are also making a strong bid to attract game developers.
If reader comments to the editorial are any measure of voter enthusiasm for the measure, the legislature will have an uphill battle trying to implement an incentive program. Nevertheless, the Globe’s support is a major development in the effort to create a tax-friendly environment for this burgeoning sector.
There are already at least 17 other states that offer tax incentives to video game companies. The tax incentive game is sometimes criticized as a race to the bottom, with states competing with one another at the expense of taxpayers. However, the judicious use of tax credits could yield dividends to the Commonwealth because the Bay State already has much to offer interactive media companies and a thoughtful incentive plan would further buttress our standing as a top destination for video game entrepreneurs.
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