By Our Staff
Top gaming CEOs expressed their concerns over what they have called an “extortionist” 30% tax imposed by Google on gaming apps at a panel discussion held at Consilience 2023, organised by the Law and Technology Society (L-Tech) at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in partnership with All India Game Developers’ Forum (AIGDF).
Said Manish Agarwal, Co-Founder, IndiGG: “The 30% jagirdari tax is an extortion and I believe in India we should not allow anybody to do this, especially when you’re not an Indian company,” he said. He pointed out that in a country like India, the focus needs to be to increase its propensity to pay and reduce friction in spending among consumers. Adding an extra 30% tax on top of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a significant expense for consumers, which he believes is unproductive from a gamer’s perspective.”
Added Anuj Tandon, CEO – Gaming, JetSynthesys: “When app stores and playstores were launched, the 30% fee was revolutionary compared to the 70% charged by OEMs or Telcos for game developers. At that time, it was a very good idea, but as the industry and business models have evolved, there needs to be a relook at the rates.”
Said Sai Srinivas, Co-Founder & CEO, Mobile Premier League (MPL): “Let’s evaluate the unit economics: if a developer charges 100 rupees, 30 rupees go to the play store or app store and 70 rupees goes to the developer. From that 70 rupees, they have to pay for hosting, user acquisition, and other expenses. My view is that we should provide Indian game developers with more revenue to invest in game development and build more games.”