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Ruling

Subject: residency

Question and answer

Are you a resident of Australia for tax purposes?

Yes

This ruling applies for the following period

Year ended 30 June 2011

Year ended 30 June 2012

Year ended 30 June 2013

The scheme commenced on

1 July 2006

Relevant facts

Your country of origin is Australia and you are an Australian citizen.

You originally left Australia to travel around the world.

You currently hold a tourist visa for Country X.

You then left Australia to live in Country X while continuing to travel to other tourist destinations.

You had intended to move back to Australia to buy a house and live but the global financial crisis has made this difficult for you and you have remained in Country X where it is cheaper to live and you can travel while trying to improve your share portfolio.

You now intend to move back to Australia in the next financial year.

You have belongings stored in Australia including a motorcycle.

You have assets located in Australia which include cars, motor bike, bank accounts, superannuation and household goods.

You purchased a cheap condo in Country X to store your belongings and may stay there for a few days when you travel.

You are renting a house in Country X and stay in hotels when you travel.

You intend to further your travels before returning to Australia permanently.

Your assets in Country X included a motorcycle, a condo and a bank account.

You are still enrolled on the Australian electoral roll.

Relevant legislative provisions

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 6-5

Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Subsection 6(1)

Reasons for decision

An Australian resident for tax purposes is defined in subsection 995-1(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) to be a person who is a resident of Australia for the purposes of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936).

The terms 'resident' and 'resident of Australia', in regard to an individual, are defined in subsection 6(1) of the 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 test,

· the 183 day test, and

· the superannuation test.

The primary test for deciding the residency status of an individual is whether the individual resides in Australia according to the ordinary meaning of the word resides.

If the primary test is satisfied the remaining three tests do not need to be considered as residency for Australian tax purposes has been established.

Where an individual does not reside in Australia according to ordinary concepts, they may still be considered to be an Australian resident if they meet the conditions of one of the other tests.

The resides test

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'.

You have been living in Country X with yearly visits back to Australia to visit family and friends. Accordingly you are not residing in Australia.

As you do not meet the resides test, we will need to consider whether you meet any of the other three tests of residency.

The domicile test

Under this test, a person is a resident of Australia for tax purposes if their domicile is in Australia, unless the Commissioner is satisfied that their permanent place of abode is outside of Australia.

Domicile

Domicile is the place that is considered by law to be your permanent home. It is usually something more than a place of residence.

In order to show that a new domicile of choice in a country outside Australia has been adopted, the person must be able to prove an intention to make his or her home indefinitely in that country.

Your domicile is Australia because you are an Australian citizen and you have advised you will return to your home in Australia where you have family and other associations.

Therefore, you will be a resident of Australia unless the Commissioner considers you have established a permanent place of abode outside of Australia.

Permanent place of abode

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.

Paragraph 23 of Taxation Ruling IT 2650 Residency - Permanent place of abode outside Australia sets out the following factors which are used by the Commissioner in reaching a state of satisfaction as to a taxpayer's permanent place of abode:

(a) the intended and actual length of the taxpayer's stay in the overseas country;

(b) whether the taxpayer intended to stay in the overseas country only temporarily and then to move on to another country or to return to Australia at some definite point in time;

(c) whether the taxpayer has established a home (in the sense of dwelling place; a house or other shelter that is the fixed residence of a person, a family, or a household), outside Australia;

(d) whether any residence or place of abode exists in Australia or has been abandoned because of the overseas absence;

(e) the duration and continuity of the taxpayer's presence in the overseas country; and

(f) the durability of association that the person has with a particular place in Australia, i.e. maintaining bank accounts in Australia, informing government departments such as the Department of Social Security that he or she is leaving permanently and that family allowance payments should be stopped, place of education of the taxpayer's children, family ties and so on.

In relation to the weight to be given to each of the above factors, paragraph 24 of IT 2650 states:

The weight to be given to each factor will vary with the individual circumstances of each particular case and no single factor will be decisive… however… greater weight should be given to factors (c), (e) and (f) than to the remaining factors, though these are still, of course, relevant.

In your case it is considered that you do not have a permanent place of abode outside Australia because:

· You intend to return to Australia

· You are living in Country X as a base for travelling to other destinations

· The condo you purchased in Country X was soley to store your belongings during your travels and the occasional stay during your travels

· You live in a rented property in Country X

· You intend to travel to other countries before returning to Australia

· You have maintained your connection with Australia by returning on yearly visits

· You maintain investments in Australia

· You have remained on the Australian electoral roll

The Commissioner is not satisfied that you have established a permanent place of abode outside Australia. Consequently, you are considered to be a resident of Australia under the domicile test.

Conclusion

You are an Australian resident under the domicile test. Therefore, your assessable income includes income you derived directly or indirectly from all sources, whether in or out of Australia during the income year.