Greg Jones considers the tax position for those left
stranded in the UK by COVID-19...
One of the consequences of the global turmoil caused by the
coronavirus pandemic has been that travel – especially
international travel – has suddenly become very difficult.
Just as the world had seemed to be getting smaller, border
closures, stay-at-home edicts and mass flight cancellations have
stopped both business folk and holidaymakers in their tracks. Many
have been "stranded" somewhere they had no intention of
staying.
(The Isle of Man, of course, has become a Hotel California in
reverse: you can leave but you can't check-in just yet....)
For those unfortunate enough to be in this situation, tax is
probably the furthest thing from their minds. But it is a fact that
remaining in a country for longer than you should can actually make
you a resident in tax terms, meaning you may be exposed to local
income tax and filing obligations – possibly with severe
penalties for
