An Individual, a South African Citizen took up permanent employment in the UK from 2003 to 2008 and then Singapore thereafter to current date. He only visits his children in SA for 2 weeks every year
Important:
This answer is based on tax law for the tax year ending 28 February 2020.
Answer:
From the facts provided we accept that the individual is still ordinarily resident in the RSA. In other words, he has not emigrated from the RSA. The fact that he may have ceased to be a resident of the RSA when he became a “person who is deemed to be exclusively a resident of the UK for purposes of the application of any agreement entered into between the governments of the RSA and the UK for the avoidance of double taxation” may not be relevant. Physical present of the individual in the RSA during any of the years in question is also irrelevant.
What is relevant is that the individual, based on our assumption and then in terms of paragraph 1 of Article 4, is a “person who, under the laws of” the Republic of Singapore, “is liable to tax therein by reason of that person’s domicile, residence …” The individual is then a resident of both Contracting States, and then “the individual shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State in which a permanent home is available to the individual …”
Article 6 deals with “income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from immovable property (including income from agriculture or forestry) situated in the other Contracting State”. Incidentally this applies to the UK as well. It is a dual taxing right. As a resident, the rental had to be declared in the RSA together with his other income (foreign sourced). The section 10(1)(o)(ii) exemption would probably have been available in respect of employment income. As a non-resident, the RSA sourced income had to be declared. A section 6quat rebate is available to relief any double tax may arise on assessment.