Tuesday, 31 October 2023

Payroll tax

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:28): My question is to the Premier. Is a tenant GP who leases a room from a medical practice owner and works under an independent agreement considered an employee for payroll tax purposes?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I do not need multiple answers. The Premier will answer the question.

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:28): Well, Speaker, you will be pleased to know that on this side of the house we will all give the same answer, unlike some of the hysteria we are seeing from those opposite. The more media attention the member for Gembrook has had today, the more hysterical the Leader of the Opposition has become. Anyway, the answer to the opposition leader’s question is: that is a matter for the State Revenue Office.

A member: The member for Berwick.

Jacinta ALLAN: Oh, Berwick, sorry.

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:29): Has the Treasurer advised the Premier of the criteria he will be using to personally determine which medical practices with tenant GPs will be forced to pay the government’s health tax and which will have their tax liabilities reduced or waived?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:29): As has been advised to the Leader of the Opposition previously, these are well-established matters that are oversighted by the Treasurer and the State Revenue Office. There is no change to these arrangements, and as the Treasurer has indicated, he will work through these matters on a case-by-case basis.

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the question was about whether the Treasurer advised the Premier, given his comments in the media today saying that he will personally intervene to decide who pays the tax and who does not.

The SPEAKER: There is no point of order. The Premier has concluded her answer.