1929: the year everything began

Within five months in 1929, Luxembourg passed a law on holding companies and another on radio stations. RTL, SES and the financial centre all trace their roots to that year.

A small country turned its sovereignty into an economic resource.

31 July 1929: a tax regime for holding companies

The law of 31 July 1929 created a specific tax regime for financial participation companies, soon known across Europe as the "Holding 1929". A company whose sole purpose consisted of owning and managing stakes in other firms escaped corporate income tax and paid a modest subscription tax instead. International groups and wealthy families began to domicile their structures in the Grand Duchy. Around them grew the lawyers, notaries, auditors and bankers who later formed the backbone of the financial centre. The regime lasted 77 years. On 19 July 2006, the European Commission ruled against it under state aid rules. The Chamber of Deputies repealed the law from 1 January 2007, with a transitional period running until 31 December 2010 for existing companies. Many holdings converted into Soparfi, while the family wealth management company (SPF) offered a new framework for private assets.

19 December 1929: the airwaves open to private capital

Less than five months later, the law of 19 December 1929 on radio-electric stations placed broadcasting under state authority while allowing the government to grant concessions to private operators. Most neighbouring countries chose public monopolies, and Luxembourg became a pioneer of private radio in Europe. Founded in 1931, the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Radiodiffusion (CLR) installed its studios in the Villa Louvigny in 1932. Radio Luxembourg went on air in 1933 and reached listeners in France, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom, financed by advertising. In 1954, the company became the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT), the ancestor of today's RTL Group, and television followed in 1955. The 1929 text remained the legal basis for Luxembourg radio and television until 1991.

From the transmitter to the satellite

The concession model outlived the long-wave era. The law of 27 July 1991 on electronic media kept the system of concessions and permissions introduced in 1929. The Société Européenne des Satellites, officially founded on 1 March 1985 and set up at the Château de Betzdorf, also operates under a concession granted by the State. Astra 1A lifted off on an Ariane 4 rocket on 11 December 1988 and carried television channels into homes across the continent. Both 1929 laws followed the same logic. A small country turned its sovereignty into an economic resource. In one case it used the right to tax, in the other the right to allocate frequencies. Both texts attracted foreign capital, and both produced companies whose reach far exceeds the national territory. Nearly a century on, finance and media remain two pillars of the Luxembourg economy, and they share the same birth year.