Private ruling: Residency
Published: May 2014
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 2013 | Year ended 30 June 2014
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 2012

Ruling: Q1: Are you a resident of Australia for taxation purposes for the period you are overseas? | A1: Yes.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You were born in Australia and you are a citizen of Australia. You left Australia to work overseas. You currently have a short contract with your overseas employer. Your intentions were to be overseas for less than 2 years. You will return to Australia at the end of your employment overseas. You do not have permanent residency of any other country. You have not returned to Australia since leaving. You live in share accommodation which is fully furnished. Your home in Australia is being rented out for the duration of your employment in overseas. You have shares in Australia which you receive dividends from. You have never been employed by the Commonwealth Government of Australia. You are over 16 years of age.

Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Subsection 6(1) | Income tax Assessment Act 1997 section 995-1

Reasons for decision: Summary: The terms 'resident' and 'resident of Australia', in regard to an individual, are defined in subsection 6(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936). The definition provides four tests to ascertain whether a taxpayer is a resident of Australia for income tax purposes. These tests are: • the 'resides' test; • the 'domicile' and 'permanent place of abode' test; • the 183 day test; and • the Commonwealth superannuation fund test. If any one of these tests is met, an individual will be a resident of Australia for taxation purposes. The resides test is the primary test for determining the residency status of an individual for taxation purposes. If residency is established under the resides test, the remaining three tests do not need to be considered. However, if residency is not established under the resides test, an individual will still be a resident of Australia for taxation purposes if they meet the conditions of one of the other three tests. | Detailed Reasoning - The resides test: The resides test considers whether an individual is residing in Australia according to the ordinary meaning of the word 'reside'. As the word 'reside' is not defined in Australian taxation law, it takes its ordinary meaning for the purposes of subsection 6(1) of the ITAA 1936. The ordinary meaning of the word 'reside', according to the Macquarie Dictionary , 2001, rev. 3 rd edition, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd, NSW, is 'to dwell permanently or for a considerable time; having one's abode for a time', and according to the Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (1987), is 'to dwell permanently, or for a considerable time, to have one's settled or usual abode, to live in or at a particular place'. In considering the definition of 'reside', the High Court of Australia, in Federal Commissioner of Taxation v Miller (1946) 73 CLR 93 at page 99-100, per Latham CJ, noted the term 'reside' should be given a wide meaning for the purposes of section 6(1) of the ITAA 1936. Similarly, in Subrahmanyam v Commissioner of Taxation 2002 ATC 2303, Deputy President Forgie said at paragraphs 43 and 44 that the widest meaning should be attributed to the word 'reside'. The question of whether an individual 'resides' in a particular country is a question of fact and degree and not of law. In deciding this question, the courts have consistently referred to and taken into account the following factors as being relevant: (i) physical presence in Australia; (ii) nationality; (iii) history of residence and movements; (iv) habits and 'mode of life'; (v) frequency, regularity and duration of visits to Australia; (vi) purpose of visits to or absences from Australia; (vii) family and business ties with Australia compared to the foreign country concerned; and (viii) maintenance of a place of abode. The weight given to each factor varies with individual circumstances and no single factor is necessarily decisive. In Shand v Federal Commissioner of Taxation 2003 ATC 2080, the Tribunal stated (at 35): Questions of residence, domicile, permanent place of abode, have frequently been found by the courts and tribunals to be difficult to assess on a factual level and not easy to define in concrete legal terms. To determine whether or not you are residing in Australia for taxation purposes, it is necessary for us to examine each of these factors in the context of your circumstances. | Detailed Reasoning - (i) Physical presence in Australia: It is important to note that a person does not necessarily cease to be a resident because he or she is physically absent from Australia. In Joachim v Federal Commissioner of Taxation 2002 ATC 2088 , the Tribunal stated (at 2090): Physical presence and intention will coincide for most of the time but few people are always at home. Once a person has established a home in a particular place, even involuntary, a person does not necessarily cease to be resident there because he or she is physically absent. The test is, whether the person has retained a continuity of association with the place, together with an intention to return to that place and an attitude that the place remains home. Further, in Iyengar v. Federal Commissioner of Taxation 2011 ATC 10-222, (2011) AATA, the Tribunal stated (at 62): Physical presence in a country for some period during a particular year of income is usually considered by the courts as necessary in order that a person should be resident in that country during that particular income year. However, there have been exceptions to this: Rogers v Inland Revenue Commissioners (1879) 1 TC 225 and Slater v Commissioner of Taxation (NZ) (1949) 9 ATD 1. You have gone overseas for work purposes. You intend on returning to Australia at the end of your employment in overseas. Although you will not be physically present here while you are working overseas , this does not preclude you from being an Australian resident as no one single factor is necessarily decisive, as mentioned above. | Detailed Reasoning - (ii) Nationality: You were born in Australia and you are a citizen of Australia. | Detailed Reasoning - (iii) History of residence and movements: You lived and worked in Australia prior to taking up the work contract in overseas. | Detailed Reasoning - (iv) Habits and 'mode of life': You have gone overseas for work purposes. Your work contract is for X months and you intend on being in overseas for 18 months. You rent a room in shared accommodation made available to you by your employer. It is considered that you still have a continuing association with Australia and is consistent with someone who is still residing in Australia. | Detailed Reasoning - (v) Frequency, regularity and duration of visits to Australia: You have not returned to Australia since leaving and you do not intend on returning to Australia while you are working overseas. At the end of your work you will return to Australia to continue your profession. | Detailed Reasoning - (vi) Purpose of visits to and absence from Australia: The purpose of your presence overseas is to work. | Detailed Reasoning - (vii) Family, business and financial ties: Family No family members have accompanied you overseas. Business or economic As mentioned above, you have taken up an employment contract overseas. Assets You have a house and shares in Australia. You do not have any assets overseas. | Detailed Reasoning - (viii) Maintenance of a place of abode in Australia: Your home in Australia is being rented out for the duration of your employment overseas. | Detailed Reasoning - Summary of the resides test: As mentioned above, the weight given to each factor varies with individual circumstances, no single factor is necessarily decisive and the term 'reside' should be given a wide meaning. In your case, although you intend to be physically absent from Australia, there are various factors that indicate that you have not ceased to be a resident of Australia. These are primarily: • you are an Australian citizen; • you intend on returning to Australia at the end of your employment overseas; and • you rent a room in a shared facility which is run by your overseas employer. Based on the above, you will retain a continuity of association with Australia while you are overseas and will be residing in Australia according to the ordinary meaning of the word. Therefore, you are a resident of Australia under the 'resides' test of residency. Whilst it is not necessary to meet more than one test to determine residency for tax purposes (we have already established that you are a resident under the resides test), we will also include a discussion of the 'domicile and permanent place of abode' test as an alternative argument. | Detailed Reasoning - The domicile test: If a person is considered to have their domicile in Australia they will be considered an Australian resident unless the Commissioner is satisfied they have a permanent place of abode outside of Australia. A person's domicile is generally their country of birth. This is known as a person's 'domicile of origin'. In order to show that an individual's domicile of choice has been adopted, the person must be able to prove an intention to make his or her home indefinitely in that country. Your domicile of origin is Australia. A domicile of choice is adopted when you become a citizen of a new country or apply for permanent residency in a new country. You have not changed your domicile as you are not a permanent resident of any other country and you have not obtained citizenship of any other country. Your visa does not allow you to remain permanently in the overseas country. The expression 'place of abode' refers to a person's residence, where they live with their family and sleep at night. In essence, a person's place of abode is that person's dwelling place or the physical surroundings in which a person lives. A permanent place of abode does not have to be 'everlasting' or 'forever'. It does not mean an abode in which a person intends to live for the rest of his or her life. An intention to return to Australia in the foreseeable future to live does not prevent the taxpayer in the meantime setting up a permanent place of abode elsewhere. The Commissioner is not satisfied that you have set up a permanent place of abode outside Australia for the following reasons: • You intend on returning to Australia at the end of your employment overseas. • You only intend on being overseas for 18 months. Your accommodation is temporary in nature as you rent a room in a shared facility which is run by your employer and is only available to staff of the organisation for the duration of their employment. The room is fully furnished and serviced with all linen and amenities provided under your rental agreement. The accommodation overseas is therefore not a permanent place of abode. You are a resident under this test. As you meet the resides and domicile tests of residency, you are a resident of Australia for tax purposes for the duration of your employment overseas.