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LNP Queensland’s payroll tax promise


Michelle Wisbey


30/09/2024 4:29:33 PM

The state’s Liberal National Party vowed to ‘immediately and permanently’ scrap the tax if elected at the Queensland election.

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A newsGP poll revealed more than half of respondents would have to increase out-of-pocket fees by more than $20 if a payroll tax was introduced.

The RACGP has welcomed a promise from Queensland’s Liberal National Party (LNP) to ditch the state’s payroll tax as its top priority, if it wins the upcoming state election.
 
On Sunday, the party vowed to stop the tax ‘immediately and permanently’, saying the change will be its first job if elected as the new State Government when Queenslanders head to the polls next month.
 
LNP Leader David Crisafulli described the tax as a ‘short-term money grab’ and said it will lead to long-term ailments within the healthcare system.
 
Mr Crisafulli said the LNP would also invest more to ‘clear wait times’, as well as train a pipeline of doctors and nurses.
 
The promise comes after the current Queensland Government became the first in Australia to announce an amnesty for eligible medical centres last year.
 
The amnesty means those eligible practices in the state are not required to pay payroll tax on payments made to contracted GPs up to 30 June 2025, and for the previous five years.
 
Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick was quick to respond to the new LNP policy, telling The Guardian it was ‘more nonsense from David Crisafulli’.
 
But RACGP Queensland immediate past Chair Dr Bruce Willett described the LNP’s commitment as ‘sensational news’ and said it sets further precedent for other states to follow suit.
 
‘The message that GPs have been giving consistently to both the opposition and the Government is that GPs are just not in the position to absorb this extra tax,’ he told newsGP.
 
‘This was something that was absolutely going to be passed through to patients.
 
‘While the Government has gone some way in resolving this, the Queensland solution up until now has been a difficult workaround and administratively difficult, and so what the LNP is undertaking will be a vast improvement on that and much easier for practices to implement.’
 
Potential changes to payroll tax arrangements for GPs have been plaguing doctors for more than a year, with each state and territory rolling out its own arrangements.
 
So far, jurisdictions have implemented a range of different exemptions and amnesties to mitigate or postpone the tax’s consequences, which GPs have warned will leave to a spike in patient costs and widespread practice closures if unaddressed.
 
The situation is so dire that a newsGP poll revealed more than one-third of respondents would consider moving interstate if that region offered more favourable payroll tax requirements.
 
A separate newsGP poll revealed more than half of respondents said they would have to increase out-of-pocket fees by more than $20 if a payroll tax was introduced.

Dr Willett said any payroll taxes on GPs across the country will only add pressure to already busy hospitals as more patients are forced to bypass their doctor due to cost.
 
‘Payroll taxes would either close practices or cost patients an extra $5 or $15 per consultation and during our cost-of-living squeeze that is very difficult for some people and potentially makes seeing a GP out of reach,’ he said.
 
‘That really does speak to the counter-productiveness of this measure.
 
‘I don’t doubt that, ultimately, the payroll tax on general practice will end up costing state governments more than it will raise in terms of additional services in emergency departments, which are already overcrowded.’
 
The Queensland election will be held on 26 October.
 
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