banner

 

The payroll tax on private medical specialists

Over the past 12 months AMA(SA) president Dr John Williams has vigorously advocated against a payroll tax decision impacting doctors and their patients.

Dr Williams has repeatedly warned the Premier, Treasurer and Health Minister that the tax is reckless, short-sighted and will heap more pressure on a health system that’s already struggling to cope.  

‘This tax is a change to the interpretation of existing legislation with which our members have always complied – a change that is now adding hundreds of thousands of dollars to their practices’ costs,’ Dr Williams said.

‘The reality is most practices simply can’t afford the additional burden. To keep treating our patients, we’ve had to raise our fees. It’s that or close down and let our patients down.’

newsclipping

 

Impact on doctors and patients

Dr Williams is deeply concerned that the increase to fees could result in patients delaying essential care.

‘We know if people don’t receive primary care when they need it, they become sicker and end up seeking desperately needed treatment from emergency departments,’ he said.

‘This will exacerbate ambulance ramping and create even more delays to essential surgeries.

‘The system is already creaking under immense pressure and the payroll tax risks making a bad situation much worse.’

Dr Williams says he’s disappointed the Treasurer Stephen Mullighan has ignored AMA(SA)’s concerns, and tried to frame doctors as tax-dodgers.

‘Doctors have been incensed at repeated comments from the Treasurer in the media that they have been ‘avoiding’ the tax, when this specific tax had not previously been imposed on independent GPs and other physicians,’ he said.

‘Those GPs who are employees have paid and will pay payroll tax, as they should. Similarly, practices pay payroll tax as it applies to admin and other staff who are clearly employees of their businesses.

‘But not all GPs are employees, and our members and other colleagues have worked closely with legal and financial professionals for some time to ensure they do comply with the law.’

Retrospective payroll tax amnesty

As many of our members are now aware, the Australian Medical Association in South Australia (AMA(SA)) has successfully negotiated a retrospective amnesty for all medical specialists to ensure they won’t be assessed for payroll tax over the past five years.

In an important update, RevenueSA has now listened to AMA(SA)'s advice and updated its website to reflect this important development.  

Dr Williams says the amnesty, which was secured after extensive lobbying of the Treasurer, is a national first that brings non-GP specialists into line with GPs.

‘Non-GP specialists in South Australia are the first in the country to benefit from the retrospective amnesty.

'It’s a significant safety net which will save practices, including general practices, as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars in retrospective taxes.’ Dr Williams said.

To qualify for the financial relief offered by the amnesty, practices must have registered for the payroll tax with RevenueSA by 30 June 2024.

AMA(SA) has been working closely with our preferred legal provider Norman Waterhouse on these matters. We recommend our members speak with Norman Waterhouse directly should they have any questions or concerns regarding compliance with their payroll tax obligations, or assistance in dealing with RevenueSA.