Businessman Was Domiciled in England, FTT Rules

The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has dismissed a businessman's appeal against a decision of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that he was domiciled in England.

The businessman, who had been born in England to Irish parents in 1942, had filed his self-assessment returns for the 2013/14 to 2019/20 tax years on the basis that he was domiciled in Ireland. HMRC enquired into the returns and issued closure notices on the basis that he had been domiciled in England in each of the tax years, increasing his total tax liability by more than £20.5 million. He appealed to the FTT.

HMRC argued that, at some point before the businessman had reached the age of 21 – the age of majority at the time – his father had acquired a domicile of choice in England. That meant that the businessman had had an English domicile of dependence from that point, which automatically became a domicile of choice when he reached the age of majority. Alternatively, HMRC argued that he had acquired an English domicile of choice since then.

The FTT observed that the businessman's father had lived in England all his adult life. He had raised his family, acquired property and built a business here, and remained here after he retired. Although he had never lost his affection for Ireland, the objective facts of his life provided clear, cogent and compelling evidence that England had become his permanent and settled home. The FTT concluded that he had acquired a domicile of choice in England probably by 1959, and in any event before the businessman had attained majority. By then the possibility of a future return to Ireland had become, at most, a vague hope or aspiration rather than a settled intention.

Although it was not necessary to determine the outcome of the appeal, the FTT went on to consider whether the businessman had formed the intention to reside in England for an unlimited time so as to acquire an English domicile of choice. The factual basis from which to infer that he had intended to reside permanently in England was even stronger than it was for his father. By 2013 he had been living in England continuously for more than 60 years. He had married here, and he and his wife had raised their two sons here. His entire commercial career had been built here, and he had founded and developed a taxi business here over a period of nearly forty years. While he had stated that he had always intended to return to Ireland at some stage, that intention had remained imprecise and vague. If the FTT had not already concluded that he had acquired an English domicile through his father before reaching majority, it would independently have concluded that he had acquired an English domicile of choice well before the start of the 2013/14 tax year.