Brexit - UK has opened it yacht register to (most) foreign citizens

[sailingforfun]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

It seems to say that U.S. citizens, and citizens of a bunch of other countries, can get Part 1 registration without either a U.K. address or U.K. company.


It throws the prestigious U.K. Part 1 registry wide open.


Which makes it a cracking flag of convenience, because there are zero taxes, and there is rather light regulation, including rather light safety requirements (you must have a life raft, however, for a boat more than 40' long).

How do zero taxes work? Not subject to British or EU VAT? Hmm?

If true, that would be a flag of convenience.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by sailingforfun

How do zero taxes work? Not subject to British or EU VAT? Hmm?

If true, that would be a flag of convenience.

Of course when the vessel is built or imported, you pay VAT on it (and customs duty if the origin is dutiable). But this is paid once in the lifetime of the vessel provided VAT status is not lost (by selling the vessel outside EU waters, by staying out of EU waters for more than 3 years, etc.). And this has nothing to do with the flag or registration -- VAT is triggered by use of the vessel in EU waters without an exemption like TI.



Most European countries and most U.S. states impose a registration tax, and/or an annual tax on the value of the boat, and/or charge some kind of sales tax upon subsequent sales of the vessel. The U.K. does not impose any such taxes.



Another tax-free country for yachts is Sweden.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Pete7

It's profitable We will quite happily sell anything to anyone. Ice to Eskimos, sand to the Arabs and guns to, well lets not go there

So "this is a reminder that the beaches are indeed open, the sun is shining, and everyone is having a wonderful time" even if we are leaving the United States of Europe.

Pete

Yeah but.... is the ice made with filtered water?

[boatman61]

May be of interest to Americans n Aussies.. the EU is being spurred into more openness..
https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d774d3...d54/index.html

[fxykty]

Another benefit of UK registration is for your ship radio licence - OFCOM does this for absolutely no cost. Sweet.

[svlamorocha]

Originally Posted by fxykty

Another benefit of UK registration is for your ship radio licence - OFCOM does this for absolutely no cost. Sweet.

Britannia rules the (air) waves!!

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by boatman61

May be of interest to Americans n Aussies.. the EU is being spurred into more openness..
https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d774d3...d54/index.html

So Brexit is already having a positive effect!


lol

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by boatman61

May be of interest to Americans n Aussies.. the EU is being spurred into more openness..
https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d774d3...d54/index.html

I read the article and all I got out of it was something was going to change concerning visas for some countries. What's the actual effect of this?

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Paul L

I read the article and all I got out of it was something was going to change concerning visas for some countries. What's the actual effect of this?

I guess that the actual effect is instead of getting a country specific visa you will be able to get a Schengen visa.. Multiple which should effectively kill off the current 90day limit.
But l8ke most things its wait to see if it actually happens.. bit like Greek taxes..

[Seadevil]

My suspicion is that this is a money making scheme as many UK government departments are required to be financially independent. For example Admiralty Charts...

Cost is 20UKPounds from memory and has to be renewed every 5 years!
It is simply a piece of A4 which can be photocopied and laminated easily!

Because I am a UK ex pat for decades my only option is to Register Part 1 my boats. The 'measurement' normally costs around 300UKP.

There are surveyors in many places and as it only takes a short time to do the measurement it could be worth flying the measurer in...

Brexit is still a mystery but if it happens be aware the Part 1 will only entitle you to a 90 presence yourself in Europe. The boat will have 6 months before it needs to pay VAT.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Seadevil

. . .

Brexit is still a mystery but if it happens be aware the Part 1 will only entitle you to a 90 presence yourself in Europe. The boat will have 6 months before it needs to pay VAT.

To be more exact, Part 1 doesn't entitle you to any presence at all in Europe. Whether or not and for how long you are entitled to be present in Europe depends on you and has nothing to do with the boat. 90 out of any 180 for many non-EU citizens, but many others are not entitled to enter at all without a visa, and others can stay as long as they like (if like me they have a residence permit).


And the boat doesn't pay VAT. I wish I had a boat like that, which paid its own VAT As has been mentioned further up in the thread -- the VAT has to be paid immediately, if you are an EU resident or citizen. If not, then you might have 18 months (not 6 months) if you qualify for the TI scheme.

[BM2023]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

.......................

Most European countries and most U.S. states impose a registration tax, and/or an annual tax on the value of the boat, and/or charge some kind of sales tax upon subsequent sales of the vessel. The U.K. does not impose any such taxes.

Another tax-free country for yachts is Sweden.

There are more EU states that do not impose any taxes on registration and/or periodically. For example in the Netherlands no taxes are imposed. Depending on the type of vessel, there are more EU countries that have tax friendly registration process.

Just as there are flag states that require a survey to be conducted and other flag states have no such requirements at all.

[seawitch1957]

Hi, pretty interesting - does anyone know how to proceed registering as a Swiss Citizen - boat in Sicily (still under Italian Flag) Tonnage certificate just obtained. I gave this task to a Dutch Registration Agent - it was a waste of time - and apparently these guys are not updated at all. I would very much appreciate your advise

[cj88]

You'll need a British address or a British representative.

[seawitch1957]

But I would not necessarily need to establish a (dormant) ltd? - nor would I need to „settle“ in the UK? - could a Lawyer be such a reprentative? would you know of any specialized Lawyers offices?