Boat people flood back to pre-Brexit Britain
British boat owners are rushing their rides back home to avoid a post-Brexit tax slugBrexit has sparked a new wave of boat people flooding into the UK as owners rush to get their vessels back inside British territory before punitive import taxes hit them hard.
Shipping group Peters & May said yesterday it had noticed a sharp jump in the number of British sailboat and motor yacht owners asking how they could minimise the amount of tax they are likely to be slugged with post-Brexit.
Peters & May said it had already introduced more frequent sailings between the UK and more popular Mediterranean and northern European routes in response to the growing demand that was already flooding in.
Boat owners who have had their floating hotels abroad for more than three years have a 10-month window left in which to bring their vessels back to the UK before they need to make customs declarations and pay 20 per cent value added tax, the British equivalent of Australia’s GST.
Running out of time
“As the December [31, 2021] deadline approaches, current travel restrictions mean that arranging to bring boats back under their own steam is more difficult,” the shipping group said.
“Peters & May is currently running regular monthly sailings between locations across the eastern and western Mediterranean, as well as northern Europe and the Baltic.
“With a vast amount of experience in handling customs and duties declarations, Peters & May can make the process as stress-free as possible for yacht owners.”
Peters & May said most of the demand was coming from the north-west of Greece, namely the port of Preveza and the island of Corfu.
However, even if British boat owners do get their floating hotels back before Brexit, once the separation from continental Europe is complete, they will be restricted to spending a maximum of 90 days in every 120 in Schengen Area member countries – an area covering most of western Europe.
It means that British boat owners will no longer have the luxury of long, lazy extended cruises in the region.
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