The Ultimate in Red Tape!

[Roaring Girl]

There seem to be several different questions here, which overlap but can be seperated:

The boat
(i) if you want to keep a non-EU boat in the EU in one place for a long time, eventually you will need to deal with the VAT issue. This applies whether leisure or commercial, but definitely unavoidable if commercial, as your business will probably have enough turnover to itself be VAT-rated. (This means that if your turnoiver exceed x per year, currently about 56GBP in the UK, your business must itself charge VAT to be passed on to the national authorities.) In the UK currently 15%, but 20% in Italy. VAT rates can change, depending on national government decisions, so you would need to check this at the appropriate time.
(ii) Recreational Craft Directive (RCD) applies if you sell a boat younger than a certain date (can't remember the date exactly). The onus is on the buyer. There is a lot of complaint about the RCD but if you are selling a boat it must comply and be certified accordingly (you can self-certify). If you do not, then you are liable to significant fines.
(iii) any legislation relating to the boat, or to the skipper, consequent of the country in which you are flagged, normally the skipper/owner's country: UK legislation is extremely minimal compared to eg Spain, which requires fairly tough qualifications and safety equipment even for private leisure craft. Your insurer may impose additional requirements, but those are not legislative.
(iv) the supra-national and national legislation relating to a boat in commercial use - ie for chartering. These will vary hugely between the different countries of the EU.

Setting up a business
(i) I heartily agree about the language issue. I (Sarah) speak pretty good French and I would quail at dealing eg with suppliers in French. So you want an inox widget made for your stern anchor. Can you describe it, specify it, negotiate the price, and argue it out if it goes wrong? Why should your supplier be able to speak a foreign language?
(ii) setting up a business in any country, especially one you don't know, is a specialist business. The US might be easier (I wouldn't know), Portugal is a nightmare - but I know people who have done it. You might look at having an Irish business which runs a charter yacht in whichever country. One friend who ran a sailing school in Portugal did so using a UK registered biz and that worked fine. I'd want to get professional advice pretty early on.
(iii) documentation does matter, and not only because many of the people you will be dealing with will find you an unusual case,so they don;t always know the rules themselves.

Your immigration status
If/when you are EU citizens you do have rights of freedom and movement. But be aware that some countries in some places require you to become a resident (and pay appropriate taxes) if you live there over 183 days. This is also a much argued over topic, and to my knowledge has only been enforced in Spain. Jim's website, which he refers to above, has a lot of up to date info on this.

The EU is not and never has tried (save arguably under the Romans) to be one country. It's 27 countries, with a long and bloody history between them, trying a new way to promote peace and prosperity. There are three more candidate countries at the moment, and a few others who have signaled a long term interest (such as Morocco). This leaves some of the states of the former Yugoslavia, the eastern coast of the Black Sea, and the Middle Eastern countries, and Norway. (Switzerland doesn't have a coast.)

It sounds like a great adventure, and lots of hard work, but well worth doing.

[GordMay]

Thanks for the very informative reply, Sarah or Pip.

FWIW: Sean hasn’t been around here, for about a year. He’s formulated and abandoned several different “plans” since posting this query, in 2004. Lately, he’s converted a van, and has been living in parking lots.

[lorenzo b]

There is no place in the world where it is easier to set up a small business and prosper than the USA. The system absolutely encourages you to lie, cheat, steal, and make big piles of money. Yes, you do need a good lawyer, accountant, and banker, that's why we have the yellow pages.
Try that in France or Italy and they'll peck your eyes out.

[witzgall]

Last I heard, Sean sold the van and bought a catamaran. Where is Sean now?

Chris

[GordMay]

Sean sold the catamaran and bought another van. After converting it to a “stealth” camper, he’s taken a holiday. Last week he was up in Montreal.

[RTB]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Sean sold the catamaran and bought another van. After converting it to a “stealth” camper, he’s taken a holiday. Last week he was up in Montreal.

I'll mention to your old buddy that you are keeping tabs on him. I didn't think he wrote to you?

[witzgall]

Wow. And I thought I changed paths often.


Chris

[gettinthere]

Mr. Paranoia is now concerned that certain people are 'stalking' him.

Amazing

[RTB]

Originally Posted by gettinthere

Mr. Paranoia is now concerned that certain people are 'stalking' him.

Amazing

Maybe stalkers isn't the right word....perhaps trolls would be more appropriate? It's pretty clear that Gord and you are reading what's going on at Sully's forum....and posting it here.