Curiosity on behalf of a friend - does a company which has been VAT registered for the purpose of aircraft leasing in the past, and shows balance sheet losses (but has not been actively trading for 5-6 years) present itself as an opportunity for a new venture, to offset any future profits against previous losses legitimately and bypass the initial hassle of VAT registration?
I'm no VAT expert and know there was a battle to get the company vat registered, but the battle was won and the company traded for 5 years without any VAT related issues, albeit at a loss. I think times have changed and owner/lessors have moved towards a LLP model as opposed to VAT registered limited company but I thought you lot may give some insight.
Can anyone advise whether the VAT model is still workable for someone who does genuinely intend to operate commercially, and is willing to factor benefit in kind appropriately on any personal usage.
Cheers
