Jeremy Coller v The Commissioners for HMRC

INTRODUCTION

The appellant (“ Jeremy ”) appeals against closure notices dated 8 January 2020 issued under section 28A (1B) and (2) Taxes Management Act 1970 for the tax years ended 5 April 2013 to 5 April 2016. The notices were issued on the basis that Jeremy was domiciled in England for each of those four tax years.

This decision, therefore, considers Jeremy’s domicile status, and in doing so needs to consider not only his domicile, but also the domicile of his father, John Coller (“ John ”), and his mother, Sylvia Coller (“ Sylvia ”).

John was born in Austria in 1918 and arrived in England in 1938 having fled to escape the Nazi persecution of Jews. He therefore had a domicile of origin in Austria. Sylvia was born into a Jewish family in Dublin on 8 February 1930 and therefore had a domicile of origin in Ireland. During the Second World War, John served with the British Army and after the war established a business and lived in London. He met Sylvia in London in 1954 and they were married later that year. They had three children. Susan who was born on 21 May 1956 (“ Susan ”), Jeremy who was born on 17 May 1958, and “ CC ” who was born on 7 March 1967.

John and Sylvia continued to live in London with their children until he died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack at the age of 50 on 31 August 1968. Jeremy reached the age of 16 on 17 May 1974. Following John’s death, Sylvia continued to live in London where she passed away on 11 August 2022.

The relevance of the foregoing dates is due to the four issues which we have been asked to determine in this appeal. Each concerns the domicile status of either Jeremy or his parents. The four issues (“ the issues ”) which have been agreed between the parties, and which have been formulated by way of questions, are these:

By the date of Jeremy’s birth on 17 May 1958, had John acquired an English domicile of choice, such that Jeremy’s domicile of origin was England? The burden is on HMRC to prove that John acquired an English domicile of choice by 17 May 1958 (“ issue 1 ”).

Alternatively, had John acquired an English domicile of choice by 31 August 1968, the date on which he passed away, such that Jeremy had an English domicile of dependency, which became an English domicile of choice, on his reaching majority on 17 May 1974. The burden is on HMRC to prove that John acquired an English domicile of choice by 31 August 1968 (“ issue 2 ”).

Alternatively, if John had not obtained an English domicile of choic