President Obama hopes to finance his recently proposed $447 billion jobs plan by, in part, eliminating tax breaks given to large oil and gas corporations. However, according to a New York Times report, even the oil industry has raised its eyebrows at the generous tax incentives granted to the video game industry.

　　Game industry tax breaks are some of the best in business. The report notes that the incentives amount to various deductions, write-offs, and credits that were largely aimed at bolstering other industries during different eras. However, game companies stand in a unique position to capitalize on these breaks because of the way they straddles lines between the software development, entertainment, and online retail industries.

　　As tax return forms are not publicly disclosed, it is not possible to tell how much game companies pay in federal taxes and how that compares to the US corporate rate of 35 percent. However, speaking to the New York Times, Treasury Department veteran and University of Texas tax professor Calvin H. Johnson believes that the game industry is one of the most heavily subsidized businesses in the US.

　　As a direct example of how these tax breaks aid the industry, the article points to Electronic Arts. During the past five years, the company reported that it brought in $1.2 billion in operating profit worldwide. However, due to various (and entirely legal) accounting techniques, such as deferred revenue and executive stock option deductions, the company has reported a loss for those years.

　　The report goes on to note that EA paid only $98 million in taxes during the period, which equates to about an 8 percent tax rate. The publisher also told the New York Times that about 50 percent of its revenues are generated outside the US.

　　"EA is a global company with a majority of our customers and roughly 50 percent of our revenue generated outside of the United States," EA VP of corporate communications Jeff Brown told the paper. "Naturally we hire, build facilities, copyright our trademarks, invest, and pay taxes in countries outside of the US."

　　Industry-lobbying group the Entertainment Software Association has in recent years spent roughly $4 million annually in Washington to, among other concerns, maintain and increase tax breaks for game companies.

　　It is unclear as to why EA is the sole gaming company referenced in the article, though the report does state that the publisher's "competitors acknowledge that its tax strategies aren't particularly aggressive compared with others in the industry." The article's author had not responded to a request for comment as of press time. EA and the ESA declined to comment on the report.