AMA Seeks Political Support To Protect Service Trusts for Doctors and Other Professions

Dr Haikerwal said the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) recently released a draft ruling on service trusts that introduces enormous red tape and bureaucratic obstacles for businesses seeking to justify the existence of a service entity to qualify for an ATO-approved service trust.

"The ATO is on a mission to abolish service trusts by stealth," Dr Haikerwal said.

"It is an attempt by the ATO to tell taxpayers how to run their businesses.

"They are ignoring all previous court decisions on the application of service trusts, and the draft ruling is a complete about-face from their previous approach to the issue.

"Even worse for small business operators, the ATO is seeking to make the draft ruling retrospective.

"The AMA supports efforts to ensure all taxpayers pay their fair share of tax, but these latest changes by the ATO will add unsustainable compliance costs that will force doctors and other professionals to abandon perfectly legitimate practices to protect their assets.

"As far as we're concerned, these changes have been brought in without any knowledge of the complexities involved in running a medical practice or the pressures on the assets of doctors and their families because of factors like medical indemnity.

"The AMA wants the ATO to engage in more detailed consultation with the medical profession before taking this draft ruling any further.

"I know that other professions and businesses share our concerns and they are making those concerns known to their MPs and Senators, just as we are.

"The AMA has already raised the service trust issue with senior politicians and we are pleased at the level of support we have received thus far," Dr Haikerwal said.