A Tax Shelter investment entails risks that should be considered before investing.
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Producing an audiovisual or theatrical work is a high-risk activity. For the investor too, the Tax Shelter investment presents certain risks, the main one of which is not obtaining or only partially obtaining the certification issued by the SPF Finances that finalises the tax relief.
The most common reasons that might result in certification of the tax relief not being obtained (or only partially obtained) are as follows:
All of the risks are detailed in section 2 of the Prospectus and its supplements. Investors need to be aware of these risk factors before making any investment decision.
For optimum management of the risks to which investors are exposed, SCOPE is careful to select audiovisual or performing arts projects for which the pre-funding is already well underway and for which the main assessment criteria have been met. This “green light” procedure is a key stage in the (co)production profession and provides initial protection for the investor.
Another element to be taken into account by the investor before choosing their Tax Shelter partner is the latter’s financial soundness. What capacity does the producer have to reimburse and/or compensate the investor in the event of a problem?
Apart from its proven experience of the industry (over 200 audiovisual projects which have already passed the relevant audits), SCOPE possesses the particularity, courtesy of SCOPE Pictures, of carrying out the auditing of required Belgian expenditure internally.
Finally, the company offers investors a joint indemnity commitment covering the possible loss of the tax benefit and involving the various companies in the group: SCOPE Pictures (or Sceniscope for "performing arts" projects), SCOPE Invest and SCOPE Immo. SCOPE benefits from a certain capital base (7.1 million equity at 31 March 2023) and believes that it is able to cover the main risk related to the failure of investors to obtain their tax certificate.
All of the risk management mechanisms are described in section 2 of the Prospectus and its supplements.
For the investor, the operation consists of making a payment of funds without eventual repayment in the aim of obtaining a Tax Shelter certificate linked to an eligible work (audiovisual or theatrical) which, under certain conditions, entitles the investor to a tax exemption. The Tax Shelter features risk factors. The main one of these is the risk of not obtaining or only partially obtaining the tax benefit for the investor. The consequence of this is the total or partial loss of the amount invested should the guarantee mechanisms be inoperative. These risk factors are described in the disclaimer, summary and chapter 2 of the Prospectus approved by the FSMA on 20 December 2023. The approval of the Prospectus by the FSMA should not be considered as a favourable opinion on the offer it contains. SCOPE Invest’s service concerns investments within the framework of the Belgian Tax Shelter system (for the audio-visual & performing arts sectors) in accordance with the provisions of Articles 194ter and following of the 1992 Income Tax Code (hereinafter 1992 CIR). Participation in the offer does not impose a minimum amount on the investor and does not involve any costs for the investor other than the payment of the investment. Companies interested in SCOPE Invest's offer are invited to read the full information contained in the Prospectus and its Supplements and to confirm the advisability of making the investment with their usual financial and tax advisers.