JULY 22, 2010 • North Carolina governor Beverly Perdue signed tax incentive legislation that provides a credit to companies producing digital media products such as video games. H1973 states producers will be granted a 15% credit of on all development costs above $50,000. The credit increases to 20 % if production is shared with a university or community college.

Impact: The Research Triangle area of North Carolina has been a hot bed for digital media development for many years. The area enjoys access to a high tech work force and a surprising number of leading academic institutions. North Carolina also has a relatively low cost of living compared with other high tech centers such as California, Boston or Seattle. However, compared with other Southern states, the North Carolina government has never been as business friendly. In recent months Virginia, Georgia, Louisiana and Florida have introduced similar bills. The competition to attract new companies is clearly heating up and forcing states with established communities to do all they can to keep companies from leaving. The bill was signed in front of the North Carolina headquarters of Epic Games.