It may no longer be red but the call to keep the red flag flying is being discussed in Russia.
Russian superyacht owners are no different from those from other countries they are all keen to maximise on the tax advantages of superyacht ownership
Russians like 95% of all other millionaire yacht owners generally register their yachts in offshore territories the likes of the Cayman Islands, The Isle of Man, Marshall Islands or Liberia.
The practice of registering a superyacht in a sovereign state different from that of the yacht’s owners employs what is called a Flag of Convenience and that description differs little from the more polite term: Open Registries.
Yachts are generally registered under flags of convenience with the aim of reducing operating costs and or avoid the regulations and tax regimes of the owner’s country.
But now given the existing threat of a freeze and arrest of their assets and with western sanctions against Russian millionaires beginning to hurt, there is a move to bring Russian yachts back under the flag of Russia.
According to an Industry media source Vladimir Putin has called on national businesses to return their capital and assets to Russia.
The IBI Web site reports “Amendments to the national Tax Code were recently approved by Russian Parliament (State Duma), which should create conditions for the return of Russian capital and assets into national jurisdiction.”
Vladimir Putin has said: “We need to say which properties and assets are owned by whom, to turn the page and move forward, as our goal is to create a transparent economy.”