A British woman has succeeded in a legal battle against Australia after it was ruled she had been subjected to a "more burdensome taxation" because of her nationality.
Catherine Addy worked in Sydney between August 2015 and May 2017 on a working holiday visa and was an Australian resident for tax purposes, the Mail Online reported, earning 26,576 Australian dollars (£14,508) in 2017.
In Australia, people working under a holiday visa are subject to a 15% tax on money they earn up to 37,000 dollars (£20,200), but Australian nationals receive a tax-free threshold of 18,200 dollars (£9,938).
Ms Addy's lawyers argued that "backpacker tax" rules contravened a "double taxation" agreement Australia has with the UK, requiring British nationals to be taxed equally to Australian nationals "in the same circumstances, in particular with respect to residence".
The judgement handed down by the High Court of Australia on Wednesday said: "The question is whether that more burdensome taxation was imposed on Ms Addy owing to her nationality. The short answer is "yes".
"Ms Addy's circumstances in the 2017 income year including that of her residency in Australia for taxation purposes were relevantly the same as an Australian national.
"She did the same kind of work and earned the same amount of income from the same source; yet an Australian national was required... to pay less tax.'
It was reported that Ms Addy and TaxBack chief executive Joanne Murphy had encouraged other backpackers to check their taxes.
"The ATO is currently considering this decision and will provide further guidance as soon as possible," the tax office said.
"This decision is only relevant where the working holidaymaker is both an Australian resident for tax purposes and from Chile, Finland, Japan, Norway, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Germany or Israel.
"Working holidaymakers who may potentially be affected by this decision are encouraged to check the ATO website for updated guidance prior to lodging or amending a return or lodging an objection."
