A critical and comparative analysis of the expression "ordinarily resident" as a criterion for determining the place of residence of an individual in the context of income tax legislation in South Africa and certain other juristictions.

Abstract

The nexus between a natural person’s income and their liability to tax in South Africa on their income, regardless of the location of its source, subject to statutory relief and international agreements, is the individual’s status as an income tax resident in South Africa. The criterion for determining the place of residence of an individual in the context of income tax can be uncertain and difficult to determine due to the case law approach imposed by the definition of the term ‘resident’ in the Income Tax Act. Through an analysis of the legislation, case law and guidelines, primarily in South Africa and the United Kingdom, the dissertation queries whether the current legislation and case law in South Africa is adequate to deal with the determination of the place of residence of an individual in the context of income tax legislation in South Africa and if a new statutory definition of residence should be considered.