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Edited version of your private ruling
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Ruling
Subject: Residency for tax purposes
Question:
Are you a resident of Australia for taxation purposes from when you left Australia?
Answer:
No.
This ruling applies for the following periods:
Year ended 30 June 2012
The scheme commenced on:
1 July 2011
Relevant facts and circumstances
You were born overseas.
You came to Australia a number of years ago to live.
You left Australia to live in another country recently.
Your spouse and children accompanied you overseas to live..
You are currently on a working visa with your spouse and children holding dependant visas which expire in 2020.
You have a work contract overseas.
You have a long term lease on a property overseas.
You had your furniture sent from Australia to furnish this property.
You intend to live overseas indefinitely.
Your property in Australia has been rented out on a long term lease and is managed by an agency.
You only intend to return to Australia over the next two years for holidays and to inspect your rental property.
You have a bank account in Australia for the rental property.
You have taken your name off the electoral roll.
Neither you nor your spouse are currently or have ever been Commonwealth Government employees.
Relevant legislative provisions:
Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Subsection 6(1).
Income tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 6-5.
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Subsection 995-1(1).
Reasons for decision
To understand your tax situation, you must first work out whether you are an Australian resident for tax purposes. Australian residents are generally taxed on their worldwide income and non-residents are generally taxed only on their Australian-sourced income.
The definition of 'resident' within tax law 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
· the superannuation test
You do not meet any of the above tests and are not considered a resident of Australia for tax purposes from when you left Australia.
The factsheet Residency - what you need to know provides details of the above residency tests and may be obtained from our website www.ato.gov.au