Can you be tax free on a private yacht cruising

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QUESTION:
I am employed by an offshore island (Guernsey) aboard a private yacht. we
travel through canadian, us, and caribbean waters throughout the year, and I
always reside on board the yacht. Is this a situation in which I can legally
gain a non-residency status from canada, as for 2 years now, and countless
more to come, this will be my state of living?
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david ingram replies:
To leave Canada for residency purposes you have to establish residence in another jurisdiction for more than six months a year.  If you lived on a boat that stayed in one country, you could be considerd to be living there but when you are in Canad part of the time and the US part of the time and then cruising 16 or 20 countries in the Carribean, you cannot be said to be living in another political jurisdiction which is what you need to do to escape Canadian Tax.
There are a lot of tax cases on the subject.  However, Frederick Reid was one which caught my attention.  He was on a Boat operating out of Bermuda and only came to Canada to visit his father in Nova Scotia.  He had also bought his father a car which he used when he was home. The Judge taxed him as a Canadian resident because he was not living in another jurisdiction.
You can find that case and others at www.centa.com - click on [US / Canada taxation]  This deals mostly with US / Canada tax matters but also deals with people on boats, people on oil drilling rigs, people in Saudi Arabia, Libya and points east and west.
Hope this helps.
David Ingram's US/Canada Services
US / Canada / Mexico tax and working Visa Specialists
US / Canada Real Estate Specialists
4466 Prospect Road
North Vancouver,  BC, CANADA, V7N 3L7
Res (604) 980-3578 Cell (604) 657-8451
(604) 980-0321 
New email to [email protected]
www.centa.com www.david-ingram.com
Disclaimer:  This question has been answered without detailed information or consultation and is to be regarded only as general comment.   Nothing in this message is or should be construed as advice in any particular circumstances. No contract exists between the reader and the author and any and all non-contractual duties are expressly denied. All readers should obtain formal advice from a competent and appropriately qualified legal practitioner or tax specialist in connection with personal or business affairs such as at www.centa.com. If you forward this message, this disclaimer must be included."
Be ALERT,  the world needs more "lerts"
 
This from "ask an income tax and immigration expert" from www.centa.com or www.jurock.com or www.featureweb.com. Davidi Ingram deals daily with tax returns dealing with:
multi jurisdictional cross and trans border expatriate problems  for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, the United Kingdom, Kuwait, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, China, New Zealand, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Russia, Georgia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Scotland, Ireland, Hawaii, Florida, Montana, Morocco, Israel, Iraq, Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mali, Bangkok, Greenland, Iceland, Cuba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Barbados, St Vincent, Grenada,, Virgin Islands, US, UK, GB, and any of the 43 states with state tax returns, etc.
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