New Colorado tax credit includes boon for game developers
Colorado's tax policies are now a little bit friendly for game developers. In June, governor Jared Polis signed House Bill 23-1309, which updates the state's tax credit options for the film, television, and video game industries.
That bill reshapes the state's 20 percent cash rebate policy for approved productions into a tax credit, and increased the state's maximum rebate pool from $750,000 to $5 million.
The bill is designed to support Colorado-based developers, but also includes options for studios not headquartered in the state. If half of a studio's workforce is based in Colorado, and production costs exceed $250,000, that studio can apply for the credit.
The bill caps the total value of credits approved by the state government at $5 million. That cap is not divided between the film, television, and game development industries, which does mean credit requests from companies in all three fields will be tallied under the same $5 million cap.
It's still a notable increase. Under the previous rebate program, that cap sometimes went as low as $750,000.
Zhenghua “Z” Yang, CEO of Colorado-based developer and publisher Serenity Forge, was one of the industry experts who consulted with legislatures on drafting the bill. In an email interview with Game Developer, he explained that he went out of his way to attend hearings and participate in the legislative process to "contribute to the industry's growth" in Colorado.
"States like New Mexico, Georgia, and countries like Canada have been offering robust and attractive programs to attract game developers, putting Colorado at a disadvantage," he explained. "By offering more competitive programs, we are providing an additional incentive for developers to choose Colorado as their base of
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