Rockstar North—Claimed £433M+ in UK tax relief while paying £0 corporation tax and sending £132M dividends overseas
Rockstar North has claimed over £433 million in UK Video Games Tax Relief since the scheme began, despite paying £0 in corporation tax between 2009-2019 according to TaxWatch UK. In 2024, the company claimed £73m in tax relief while simultaneously paying £132m in dividends to Take-Two Interactive in the US. TaxWatch director George Turner called it 'a drive-by assault on the British taxpayer,' noting the relief was designed for small studios with cultural content, not billion-dollar franchises like GTA.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax Practices | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.885 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.59)
Evidence (1 signal)
Claimed £433M+ in UK tax relief while paying £0 corporation tax and sending £132M dividends overseas
Rockstar North has claimed over £433 million in UK Video Games Tax Relief since the scheme began, despite paying £0 in corporation tax between 2009-2019 according to TaxWatch UK. In 2024, the company claimed £73m in tax relief while simultaneously paying £132m in dividends to Take-Two Interactive in the US. TaxWatch director George Turner called it 'a drive-by assault on the British taxpayer,' noting the relief was designed for small studios with cultural content, not billion-dollar franchises like GTA.