L'Echo is reporting on Tuesday that, according to FPS Finance, nearly €26 million euros have already been raised for performing arts through the tax shelter mechanism. This tax incentive system was extended to performing arts last February. The daily publication says it has been hughly successful. L'Echo has learned from the FPS Finance that 1,061 such tax framework agreements have been notified to the Tax Shelter unit. The total funds raised in 2017 for performing arts in Belgium reached €25.96 million (the figure was current on December 22nd).
Three quarters of these funds (€20.57 million) have been allocated to projects to fulfil requests for the Flemish community and a quarter (€5.39 million) for the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. This total only concerns matters with an administrative issue.
L’Echo does have one final observation. Although the effects from the tax incentive are positive, there is regret in the performing arts sphere that the mechanism is solely limited to financing the shows, not to producing them both in Belgium and abroad, or supporting performing arts theatre between productions.
The Brussels Times
