Private ruling: Foreign income
Published: June 2014
Ruling period: Year ending 30 June 2014 | Year ending 30 June 2015
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 2013

Ruling: Q1: Are the salary and allowances you earned while employed overseas exempt from income tax in Australia? | A1: Yes.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You are an Australian resident for income tax purposes. You have recently signed a contract to work on an overseas development assistance project for a continuous period greater than 91 days. Your employer is contracted to an Australian Government Department to undertake this overseas development assistance project. There is a memorandum of understanding between Australia and the overseas country that exempts the income from taxation in the overseas country. The overseas county normally taxes salary and wage income. There is no taxation treaty between the Australian Government and the overseas country.

Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Section 23AG

Reasons for decision: Summary: Subsection 23AG(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936) provides that foreign earnings are exempt from income tax where all of the following requirements are satisfied: • you are a resident of Australia and a natural person • you are engaged in foreign service • the foreign service is for a continuous period of at least 91 days • you derive foreign earnings from that foreign service • the foreign service is directly attributable to an activity that is listed in subsection 23AG(1AA) of the ITAA 1936 • the foreign earnings are not exempt from income tax in the foreign country only because of one of the reasons listed in subsection 23AG(2) of the ITAA 1936. Given a consideration of the whole arrangement, it is accepted that you meet the above criteria and the income referable to your foreign service is exempt from income tax in Australia.