Originally Posted by
Verbal Kint
My point, though, is that commuting from the US ought to be no different from a tax perspective, with the added benefit of the DTA between the US & Oz, unlike HK. Obviously everyone’s situation is different / get your own tax advice etc.
If you don’t have a life outside of Australia they’ll nab you on residency. And more so than HK where you were paid housing allowances, the scenario is FIFO-like. This is an immediate failure in establishing non-residency status.
Do you have a mortgage or rental lease outside of Australia? A car? Other evidence of a life abroad. If you are couch surfing or spending a few nights in a hotel at your own cost every month, wife and kids back in Australia, you are a resident and the ATO could well be getting much better at discovering this. The scenario for single guys no different but may not be as visible.
I predict you’ll all eventually know a busted pilot commuter within 5 years. The blissful ignorance of taxation requirements is widespread.
The ATO claims it has advanced financial matching techniques with super computers. The evidence they do and it’s working, are reports this area is being expanded as it’s proving so lucrative, in recovering tax owed by Australians self-declaring otherwise.