Response from the medical community

Clearly there is concern in the industry about impact on organisation owners as well as the ability to survive and uphold services to patients.

Response from the medical community

Alarmed by the ruling and its broader implications, Australian Medical Association NSW swung into campaign mode.

“A payroll tax on medical practices will force some doctors to close their doors while others will have to stop bulk billing. Patients will lose access to healthcare and be forced to pay more.”50

Australian Medical Association

In February 2022, the AMA hosted a webinar on the topic with the Commissioner of State Revenue. Clearly, doctors and practice owners were concerns – 740 of them tuned in. Clearly, the Commissioner was not to be deterred – he admitted that Omicron was the only reason that there had not been further audits of practices.51

The AMA NSW noted that practice owners were reluctant to speak openly about their payroll tax concerns for fear of triggering an audit. Many doctors provided their anonymous comments on the ‘mercenary tax’ which they feared would ‘decimate general practice businesses.’ One GP stated:

Depending on interpretation of payroll tax I could lose $120,000 straight away if five years retrospective money was taken. Going forward $25,000 to $30,000 per year.

I already forfeit more than 40% of my income being a director and running a practice. Revenue NSW is trying to take more than 15 to 25% of my operating profit per annum by misconstruing a well understood concept in general practice about contractors.

These taxes are doing grievous harm by further placing immense strain on our practice to spend tens of thousands of dollars changing our structure for no reason other than to avoid the Office of State Revenue creating loopholes for themselves to price gouge us.

We are afraid of bankruptcy, endless ongoing price cuts to our profession, with increases year on year in GP stress, suicide and mental health. We are tired of the underfunding, the public slamming of our profession.52

Regional GP

50 www.amansw.com.au/payroll_tax/#:~:text=This%20change%20in%20 the%20State,managed%20by%20the%20general%20practice 51 medicalrepublic.com.au/payroll-tax-blitz-to-hit-patients-not-justpractices/63839 52 www.amansw.com.au/payroll-tax-anonymous