Labor promises to abolish any chance of GP payroll tax if elected

Labor leader Rebecca White said should GPs have to pay this tax, it would increase the average visit by $15 to $20 per patient.

"That's a massive cost to patients as they're trying to access health care, particularly in a cost of living crisis," Ms White said.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Tasmania chair Toby Gardner and co-owner of Newstead Medical Centre said as a small business, they already paid payroll tax on administration staff, nursing staff and employed doctors.

"What we've seen around the country is a reinterpretation of payroll tax rules in different states where contractor GPs are suddenly being found to be subject to payroll tax liability around the country," Dr Gardner said.

"In some states such as New South Wales and Victoria, some practices have been liable for up to a million dollars in payroll tax and retrospective payroll taxes, which as you can imagine, would bankrupt these small businesses."

"We've been asking in Tasmania for an exemption from payroll tax on our contracted GPs, but we haven't had any clarity or surety on this.

Ms White said she wrote to Liberal Treasurer Michael Ferguson in September last year to seek this commitment.

Mr Ferguson said this policy was "another uncosted, unfunded Labor promise."

"The issue of corporate medical centres' liability to payroll tax has recently become prominent due to active compliance programs by other state and territory revenue offices," Mr Ferguson said.

"However, there has been no change to the law in this area and the Government won't be introducing any changes."

Australian Medical Association (AMA) Tasmania rural doctors representative Aaron Hawkins said having payroll tax hanging over the heads of practices carried the risk of being "catastrophic".

"I'm a practice owner in Deloraine and we're the only GP practice that provides care to our community," Dr Hawkins said.

"And if something like payroll tax came in then yes, we might have to be passing on fees to the community.

"That would potentially leave a community like Deloraine without access to primary care ... this [policy] provides certainty and clarity for us going forward."