Boot projects are extremely timeconsuming

Pay the tax or finance a contractor. That is, until tonight midnight, the alternative proposed to half a million of French subject to tax of solidarity on wealth (ISF). Last year, 73.000 of them chose to reduce their cheque to the tax authorities by injecting 1.1 billion in total in SMEs. An opportunity opened in August 2007 and the adoption of the Act, employment and purchasing power (Tepa). As they invest directly or through an investment fund, their advantage is 75 or 50 of the fixed amounts, but it may not exceed EUR 50,000.

If these "sponsors" of the economy are well identified, the recipient companies are much less. No one can say how many took advantage of the measure, a big half of capital through a holdings or funds (FIP, FCPI and RPF). More boring, nobody knows how much actually reached them. Collective investment vehicles were indeed up to thirty months to invest. In the meantime, they place the money collected on racks without risk (monetary sicav...). At this stage, only 16 of the capital entrusted to them would be already reached SMEs, believes the French Association of capitalists, umbrella structures. "We support companies in the life", justifies its President, Pierre de Fouquet.

This is not the only paradox of this device, which drains a portion of the funds to implanted... companies elsewhere in Europe. The case is rare, but it is so, for example, that many wind turbines were installed in Spain. "We could not reserve the device for small and medium enterprises, because Brussels would have banned us him for the free movement of capital," defending the entourage of Christine Lagarde, Minister for the economy. "It is not normal that public money facilitates the development of activities abroad", says Senator Philippe Adnot, specialist of the record.

Invest in your own business

Few however are those who dare challenge the interest of a device for relay traditional funding networks in times of crisis. Information technology, biotechnology and telecommunications are listed in the "hit parade" sectors best accompanied by, indicates the Association française de management. Industry and services are in fourth position, followed by transportation and energy. The holdings tend to focus on existing companies over start-ups. "Boot projects are extremely time-consuming. "This is why we spend 70 of our capital to more advanced projects", explained Emmanuel Gaudé, President of ISF growth 2009.

Direct investors, they turn to companies that they coexist, which diversified the range of beneficiaries. Despite a reduction of outstanding tax (75), the majority of them fled the risk and invests in the most secure projects. This explains, inter alia, the success of the projects of wind turbines and photovoltaic installations (see opposite). Others are investing in their own business. The case has beautiful be authorized by law, none has wished to respond to the "echoes", the taxpayers concerned thinking probably reducing the EWB placing money on his own account is not necessarily understood all.

Some, finally, are the way to avoid any risk-taking activities of facade. This on the Internet, the business drink your EWB allows to reduce his tax by purchasing of grands crus (Romanée-Conti, Mouton Rothschild, etc.) that can be resold at the end of five years, with strong gains. Of course minority situations, but that tarnished the reputation of a device touted by thousands of entrepreneurs.