Personal Tax – Residency Case
A recent High Court case has overturned a Special Commissioners decision in relation to the UK residency status of a British Airways pilot. This is another in a series of cases over the year which has looked at the contentious issue of determining residency in complex cases.
In this case the pilot in question, who was born in South Africa, had claimed that he was not-resident in the UK for the six tax years ending in 2002/03. The High Court found that the Special Commissioner had erred in law and held that the pilot was indeed resident. The pilot had homes in both South Africa and the UK and remained in the same job both before and after he stated he was no longer resident.
This is yet another case which demonstrates the importance of being able to show that UK residency has ended. In this case the taxpayer continued his employment in the UK and was unable to meet the necessary requirement to be deemed non-resident.