Tax implications of owning a super yacht

Advisers in taxation are sometimes surprised by the ‘out of the blue’ telephone calls they get – none more so than a caller who has sold his multi-million pound UK-based company for £300m wishes to retire abroad and intends to buy a super yacht to live on in a sunny jurisdiction. The ultra-high net worth (UHNW) UK individual has heard that buying a super yacht to sail it abroad to live onboard is a way to save on UK taxes – income tax (45%) capital gains tax (20%) VAT (20%) and possibly even inheritance tax (40%) – by being non-UK resident (see Taxation magazine ‘Change of heart’ 5 November 2019). How can the person achieve this by buying a super yacht if at all?

Long-term residence abroad ie greater than five UK complete years can avoid CGT on sale...