A daughter’s decision to move her 88-year-old mother from England into a Scottish care home gave rise to a complex dispute between her children about the jurisdiction of England’s Court of Protection and our Sheriff Court and also a judicial analysis of the meaning of habitual residence in the light of the 2000 Hague Convention on the International Protection of Adults.

It was agreed between the parties that the mother did not have capacity to decide where to live.

Two statements stand out in the decision:

“Habitual residence is, in essence, a question of fact to be determined having regard to all the circumstances of the particular case.  Habitual residence can in principle be lost and another habitual residence acquired on the same day: … “

“In the case of an adult who lacks the capacity to decide where to live, the habitual residence can in principle be lost and another habitual residence acquired without the need for any court order or other formal process, such as the appointment of an attorney or deputy.”

The court found that the mother was not “habitually resident” in England and Wales and therefore in favour of the jurisdiction of the Sheriff Court.

The full judgement can be found here.

Legislation introduced in Finance Bill 2013 puts the rules which determine an individual’s tax residence on a statutory basis.

HMRC has published guidance to help customers decide if they are resident in the UK for the purposes of paying tax.

The guidance can be found here.

The UK Government has finally published two important consultation papers on a “statutory residence test” and the reform of how we tax non-domiciled residents.

The statutory residence test consultation proposes the introduction of a statutory definition of tax residence for individuals and seeks views on the design and implementation of the framework for such a definition and on options to reform the concept of ordinary residence.

The reform of taxation of non-domiciled individuals consultation document seeks views on the detailed policy design of the changes announced in the 2011 UK Budget.

The consultation documents can be found here and here.