REGINA: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is pleased that two of the three main party leaders have agreed to sign the Tax Cut Guarantee. Only Premier Romanow has refused.

"A tip of the hat to the leaders of the Liberal and Saskatchewan parties for putting our tax money where their mouth is and agree to sign on the dotted line," said Richard Truscott, Saskatchewan Director of the CTF. "As for Premier Romanow, we've listened to his concerns about the wording of the guarantee and reiterate that we are willing to entertain changes. The point of the exercise is to most accurately reflect the parties own commitments to the taxpayers of Saskatchewan. Period, full stop."

The CTF has produced three placards that outline the tax cut promises made by the NDP, the Saskatchewan Party, and the Liberal Party. All three leaders have been asked to sign a pledge that they will live up to their tax cut commitments if elected or resign. Letters have been sent to the party leaders challenging them to sign their tax cut guarantee before the end of the provincial election campaign. The CTF emphasized that the tax cut is intended to reflect the policy of each party and not CTF policy.

"We've been fighting for tax cuts for years. The debate in Canada and in our province has moved from the merits of tax relief, to the magnitude and the mix of which taxes to cut. We are delighted tax relief is the central issue of this campaign. That is why we are asking for this commitment to be as strong as possible."

"Voters are tired of broken promises and are demanding accountability in the absence of any recall or citizens initiative laws. We believe the Guarantee offers the most specific commitment that we can draw from the leaders," stated Truscott.

"No only does the Guarantee provide accountability, it crystallizes exactly what each party leader's own tax cut commitments really are and makes it very clear to everyone what they are promising. We can't force Premier Romanow to sign the Tax Cut Guarantee, but we can change the wording so it must accurately reflects his commitment to the people of Saskatchewan. We are still waiting to hear from him, so we are clear what his tax cut commitments are," concluded Truscott.