Our client, Jack, works as a property salesman and was re-allocated to Nanjing, China for 3 years in 2016 due to the needs of the head office. When doing his tax return, Jack’s previous accountant considered Jack to be a non-tax resident and calculated the tax rate for Jack (tax rate $0-$90,000 32.5% $90,001-$180,000 37%) and as a result Jack had to pay a large amount of tax to the ATO.

After Jack came to us through a friend’s recommendation, we took a detailed look at Jack’s personal situation and understood his eagerness to pursue help to reduce his surprising tax bill. We spoke to the tax commissioner through the ATO tax agent hotline to discuss Jack’s personal circumstances, including the fact that his home was still in Australia, that he was receiving a salary from an Australian company and that he was returning to Australia regularly.

Successfully applied for private ruling for Jack’s case to classify him as a tax resident, and under the new tax rate ($0-$18,200 tax free $18,201-$37,000 19% $37,001-$90,000 32.5%) successfully saved Jack The new tax rate ($0-$18,200 tax free).