Recently, the High Court of Australia rejected the Australian tax authorities’ request to appeal against a decision of the Federal Court of Australia. In that case the Federal Court of Australia had held that an individual (an Australian citizen) had a ‘permanent place of abode’ in Bahrain even though, during the relevant tax year (2011), he had lived in Bahrain in a temporary accommodation (a fully furnished rented apartment).

The above-mentioned decision did not involve a tax treaty situation. Could that decision be of persuasive value in a case involving a tax treaty situation? This article seeks to answer that question.