Luxembourg

[LU] New Legislation on Audiovisual Media

IRIS 1999-2:1/15

Annemique de Kroon

Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam

On 21 December 1998 Luxembourg adopted new legislation amending and reworking the amended Act of 13 December 1988 setting up a special interim tax scheme for audio-visual investment certificates, and the Act of 11 April 1990 creating a national fund for the support of audio-visual production.

A special interim tax scheme has been set up on the basis of audio-visual investment certificates aimed at promoting risk capital investments in the production of audio-visual works to be produced in Luxembourg (Art.1).

Article 2 of the new Act stipulates that the Luxembourg Government may issue audio-visual investment certificates to joint-stock companies which are approved, resident and fully taxable, whose company object is audio-visual production, and which actually produce audio-visual works in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 4 of the Act.

Article 4 lists the conditions which audio-visual works must meet in order to benefit from the audio-visual investment scheme. In order to be admissible, works must:

- contribute to the development of the audio-visual production sector in Luxembourg by virtue of a reasonable correlation between the advantages allowed and the long-term economic, cultural and social effects of the works;

- be designed to be mainly produced within the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg;

- be exploited or jointly exploited by the production company, by its actual, lasting holding of a significant proportion of the corresponding rights;

- offer reasonable prospects for return on investment. The following works are excluded from the scheme:

- pornographic works, works inciting violence or racial hatred, apologies of crimes against humanity and, in general, counter to public order and accepted moral standards;

- works intended or used for publicity purposes;

- information programmes, current affairs debates and sports broadcasts.

Production companies wishing to benefit from the audio-visual investment certificates scheme must apply to the National Fund for the Support of Audiovisual Production, a public establishment whose main purpose is to promote development of the audio-visual production sector in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg.