The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (‘AAT’) recently held that a taxpayer was a tax resident of Australia, even though he was mostly living and working overseas during the relevant period.
The taxpayer was born in Vietnam and obtained Australian citizenship in 1978. He was living and working in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 2015 until 2020.
The taxpayer spent less than two months in Australia for each of the 2017 to 2020 income years visiting his family.
The AAT nevertheless held that he was a tax resident of Australia for each of the 2016 to 2020 income years, as he “maintained an intention to return to Australia and an attitude that Australia remained his home”.
The AAT noted in this regard that the taxpayer: