Houghton v. Nebraska Dept. of Rev.


Nebraska Supreme Court Online Library www.nebraska.gov/apps-courts-epub/ 01/15/2021 09:07 AM CST - 188 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 308 Nebraska Reports HOUGHTON v. NEBRASKA DEPT. OF REV. Cite as 308 Neb. 188 Thomas and Pamela Houghton, husband and wife, appellants, v. Nebraska Department of Revenue, an agency of the State of Nebraska, and Tony Fulton, Tax Commissioner, appellees. ___ N.W.2d ___ Filed January 15, 2021. No. S-20-176. 1. Administrative Law: Judgments: Appeal and Error. In an appeal under the Administrative Procedure Act, an appellate court may reverse, vacate, or modify the judgment of the district court for errors appearing on the record. 2. ____: ____: ____. When reviewing an order of a district court under the Administrative Procedure Act for errors appearing on the record, the inquiry is whether the decision conforms to the law, is supported by com- petent evidence, and is neither arbitrary, capricious, nor unreasonable. 3. Domicile: Intent. To acquire a domicile by choice, there must be both (1) residence through bodily presence in the new locality and (2) an intention to remain there. 4. Domicile. All of the surrounding circumstances and the conduct of the person must be taken into consideration to determine his or her domicile. 5. Domicile: Intent. To change domicile, there must be an intention to abandon the old domicile. 6. ____: ____. To establish a new domicile, the present intention must be to remain indefinitely at a location or site or to make a location or site the person’s permanent or fixed home. 7. Judgments: Appeal and Error. In conducting a review for errors appearing on the record, an appellate court will not substitute its factual findings for those of the district court where competent evidence sup- ports those findings. 8. Intent: Proof: Circumstantial Evidence. Intent is a question of fact, which may be determined by circumstantial evidence. - 189 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 308 Nebraska Reports HOUGHTON v. NEBRASKA DEPT. OF REV. Cite as 308 Neb. 188 9. Domicile. Where a person’s move is to a foreign country, the nature of the visa under which admission is granted is an essential inquiry in determining the person’s domicile. 10. Domicile: Intent. An individual’s subjective intent is not dispositive of domicile if a limited visa of the foreign country is intended to restrict his or her intent, for an intent inconsistent with law is unrealistic and insufficient to establish a domicile. Appeal from the District Court for Lancaster County: Andrew R. Jacobsen, Judge. Affirmed. David S. Houghton, of Houghton, Bradford & Whitted, P.C., L.L.O., for appellants. Douglas J. Peterson, Attorney General, and L. Jay Bartel for appellees. Heavican, C.J., Miller-Lerman, Cassel, Stacy, Funke, Papik, and Freudenberg, JJ. Cassel, J. INTRODUCTION This Administrative Procedure Act appeal centers on whether income taxpayers abandoned their domicile in Nebraska and acquired a domicile in the United Kingdom (U.K.). The Tax Commissioner and the district court concluded that the taxpay- ers did not meet their burden of proof. Although the move to a foreign country presents ...

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