An income tax matter concerning the taxpayer, Jeremy Coller, required determination of his domicile status. This in turn required consideration of the domicile status of both of his parents (Coller v HMRC [2023] UKFTT 212 (TC)).
Jeremy himself was born and brought up in England.
Jeremy’s father John arrived in England in 1938 from Austria, and it was determined that he had acquired a domicile of choice in England.
Jeremy’s mother Sylvia arrived in England in 1954 from Ireland, and it was determined that she too had acquired a domicile of choice in England.
The case report includes a useful analysis of the law on domicile (which is not primarily a matter of tax law but which has important tax considerations).
The FTT concluded that Jeremy was domiciled in England at the relevant time:
“In our view HMRC have discharged their burden of proving that Jeremy was domiciled in England on or before 5 April 2012. This is based not just on the length of time that Jeremy has spent in England but also on the quality of that residence. Having been born here, established a family here and having no home elsewhere, that is a strong starting point when considering the question as to where he intended his residence to be on a permanent and indefinite basis and the place where he would end his days. That is England. The factors against this which we have set out above do not demonstrate that he had either no such fixed intention or that he had neither considered it, or having considered had come to no firm conclusion. It seems clear that he had no intention to move to Israel until after his divorce in 2012. Prior to that the indications are that he had laid down deep (and to our mind permanent) roots in England and that prior to 2012 this reflected an intention to live here permanently and indefinitely and to end his days here.”
In reaching this conclusion, the tribunal said that the taxpayer’s oral evidence carried little weight “when considering the clear and compelling evidence of his deeply settled way of life in England”.
https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKFTT/TC/2023/TC08738.html
Related content from Claritax Books
Advising British Expats is a detailed guide to the tax issues arising for individuals who leave the UK to live and work abroad. Written for accountants and other professional tax advisers, the book also includes commentary on individuals coming to work in the UK.
