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DAVID Thayer (left) and Old Faithfulls proprietor Tanya McAlpin will make the Wangaratta Chronicle Marathon and Fun Run a family affair alongside nine-year-old son Alfie, and customers are being invited to join the team. Full story page 6. PHOTO: Kurt Hickling
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Sport
GP fee hike fears $12 increase p $ per visit if p planned medical centre p payroll y tax changes g pass, p , MPs warn
LOCAL MPs have warned the State Government that changes to payroll tax on medical centres would hurt struggling families seeing a GP. The State Government has proposed a new model that would have medical clinics bound by payroll tax laws even though GPs
BY STEVE KELLY skelly@ nemedia.com.au
currently pay medical proprietors for services such as the rent of the consulting room and administration services. But HotDoc research
indicates that 95 per cent of clinics in Victoria plan to increase patient fees in response to any additional payroll tax burden and operational compliance costs. Under the proposed model, the average rise would be around $12 for a standard consultation,
meaning out of pocket costs are likely to rise to about $52. State MP for Northern Victoria Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell and Indi Independent federal MP Helen Haines believe that imposing payroll tax on medical centres will directly impact local people.
One Nation MP Ms Tyrrell said this is just another tax introduced by the Victorian Government that directly increases the household budgets of Victorian families already in a cost-ofliving crisis. “Labor continues their cash grab across a range of vital industries that people
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rely on – education, food production, electricity and now healthcare,” Ms Tyrrell said. “This tax will make it more expensive for Victorians to visit their GP, forcing more people into hospital emergency rooms that already cannot cope. ■ Continued page 2