Peter suggested I post my request.
I’m looking to get in touch with accountants who are knowledgeable about the justification of business expenses. Not only to justify the use of private aircraft (I already got a clear positive answer for Germany on that) but also many other things that help to align personal and work life for an independent business owner who’s work is 100% travel (4 days/week over 10 months).
I don’t care about which EU country (or close by) I eventually base my business in so I’m more than happy to talk to people in several countries.
This is not about evading taxes. It is simply a request to find out where the rules about justification of business expenses are more favorable and where I run less risk that something will be deemed a personal expense simply because it may appear on the surface to be related to my personal life.
My email address is [email protected]
What’s the problem? Germany has no limits in justified company expenses. As long as your business turns a profit (which it has to as it has to pay the owner) and the expenses are business related, there will be no problem. There are limitations around the use of private boats but not around aircraft.
I got the German tax office to pay 42% of my total IR costs (including airplane rental, instructor, ground school, exams). They didn’t even ask any questions..
Surely every “large and modern” country must have limitations on the private use of a company asset (like the UK “Benefit in Kind” system).
In the UK, a trip qualifies as a business expense if done “wholly and exclusively” for the business. This of course can be any of
and clearly some of these are much easier to “arrange” than others 
There is some concession (I don’t know any details) whereby your wife can fly with you on the “business” trip.
The UK also has no requirement to make a profit, for business related expenses to work. Such a requirement would be bizzare because loads of companies do not make a profit, merely via the proper application of capital allowances.
You certainly cannot get flight training paid (UK) unless it is a CPL which you need for a job, and I would suspect you need to be a self employed pilot for that.
The Isle of Man has no Benefit in Kind which is super, but I suggest checking out the climate and the local entertainment before going to live there. It’s quite nice but the Brits would call it an “acquired taste”
The UK also has no requirement to make a profit, for business related expenses to work. Such a requirement would be bizzare because loads of companies do not make a profit, merely via the proper application of capital allowances.
Surely you don’t have to make a profit but if you do, then you are pretty safe. If you do not make a profit in Germany, then you will have to prove to the tax office that your business is designed to make profits in the future. I’m sure it’s similar in the UK, the tax office does not tolerate fake companies that only exist to draw VAT and fund a lifestyle. An airplane generally is a red flag for the tax office and you will receive extra scrutiny but if it’s really for business, there will be no problem.
You certainly cannot get flight training paid (UK) unless it is a CPL which you need for a job, and I would suspect you need to be a self employed pilot for that.
German tax law allows you to deduct all costs for education in a profession you currently do not exercise (i.e. everything but the first profession you learn). Some time ago, the tax administration has established which pilot licenses are considered professional training which which not. PPL is hobby, IR is professional (+ CPL and ATPL of course). I was very surprised that it worked, the whole 15k€ got accepted. Had I known that before, I would have chosen the Cirrus instead of the shagged Archer. 
In Belgium, tax authorities are on the hunt for luxury craft like aircraft or yachts registered to companies. I do not know what the law exactly says, but understand that your tax declarations must be “reasonable” – both your own and your business’. Generally speaking, as long as nobody cares to check your figures, you’re on the right side; and there’s a shortage of able tax staff so that it mostly works out well, especially if one keeps a low profile.
But that’s not a real answer to the question. In BE, and I daresay in any country, you will easily locate a tax consultant who knows the law and how it is applied (just like in aviation, there can be a lot of distance, there); the difficult point would be to locate one who can compare between countries. I have no idea where or how to get such a service.
If you do not make a profit in Germany, then you will have to prove to the tax office that your business is designed to make profits in the future.
But surely that is impossible to prove, especially if it is not making a profit now (which is easy to prove).
This is exactly the attack which the UK Revenue use against successful businesses who put an aircraft into a company structure. That structure will always make a net loss, due to capital allowances. Then, the Revenue claim that the various BIK defences are valid only if a profit is made (which is bogus but only a good accountant knows that, and most small businessmen don’t have a good accountant, or an accountant who is willing to stick his neck out and thus risk an audit of his other clients) so the structure is forced into a collapse. A good inspector can do 20-50 such jobs each year, collecting a few tens of k each time.
A structure should either be legal, or not. But you may have to spend a lot of money fighting an attack. It is GBP 10k here for a tax barrister, for some office work plus 1 day at the hearing. If the Revenue are asking for say 20k, you may prefer to write them the cheque – and they know it.
There are some accountants with international expertise but they are very expensive. I have known some, in London, and they charged GBP 450/hour and that was in 1991.
But surely that is impossible to prove, especially if it is not making a profit now (which is easy to prove).
And that’s the biggest trap in the whole scheme. The German tax authorities let you happily deduct your expenses for several years in a row even if you don’t make any profit during those years. But their patience is limited and they have a long memory. If your enterprise is not profitable after a certain number of years (depending on the individual tax office they sum up a period of 8 to 15 years over which the accumulated income has to be greater than the expenses) it will be classified as “Liebhaberei” (hobby) and all the losses you deducted over the past two or three years will be reclaimed. I know at least one person who had to declare bankruptancy after that.
Without getting j to the minutiae (for which you definitely need an accountant not a web forum), if you want to run it as a business it must be a business. So it needs customer(s) and a realistic profit making business plan. It it is just a sham to offset the cost of an aircraft then it will never work (at least in the UK).
Obviously you don’t have to claim capital allowances or any other expense so a profit can always be made if you have revenue.
But before you talk to accountants I suggest you describe what the business model exactly is. If you need one in the UK I can refer you.
I would like to receive a few references to accountants in the UK and elsewhere in Europe to present my case and discuss it.
So I deeply appreciate any contact information people here are willing to share. Many thanks.
Without getting j to the minutiae (for which you definitely need an accountant not a web forum), if you want to run it as a business it must be a business. So it needs customer(s) and a realistic profit making business plan. It it is just a sham to offset the cost of an aircraft then it will never work (at least in the UK).
It is easy to tell somebody to get an accountant, but one gets much more out of a professional adviser if one has done some research beforehand (the adviser may not like this but that’s his problem!) and a forum like this is a perfect place to pick up tips on what to do and what to avoid.
if you want to run it as a business it must be a business.
If that was the full answer, life would be very simple and we would not need financial advice Just do what the average builder does (for the non cash portion of his work ) and chuck everything into a paper bag and take it to a street corner accountant at the end of the year.
There are many arrangements which involve a company but which are not trading in the sense of selling a product or a service to numerous arms-length customers (what some people would think is a requirement of a “business” but actually they would be quite wrong). And even if you have such a business, the question still arises as to what is an allowable business expense concerning the use of an aircraft. For example what if you want to carry a family member on the business trip. Some countries allow this, some don’t.
