-- CTF Presents Ontario Pre-Budget Submission to Finance Committee --

TORONTO: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today presented its pre-budget submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. In total, the CTF forwarded seven key recommendations for the provincial government to consider for the 2000/2001 fiscal year including:

Implementation of a legislated debt reduction schedule amounting to a minimum of 5% of total revenues collected each fiscal year;

Further income tax reductions or tax adjustments to account for hidden provincial tax increases as a result of silent federal tax increases known as bracket creep;

An accelerated push toward privatization across the Government of Ontario; and

Reductions in provincial gas taxes to a level commensurate with transportation spending.

"The Ontario government is at a cross-roads as it enters the post deficit era," stated CTF federal director Walter Robinson during his committee appearance. "The need for increased fiscal vigilance to restrain program expenditures and further priorize government operations is now more important than ever before."

Robinson also noted that Ontarians continue to pay more in provincial income taxes due to the provincial spillover effects of the federal silent tax policy known as bracket creep. "In the past 11 years, Ontarians have paid an extra $11 billion to the provincial treasury due to bracket creep and paid more than $1.25 billion last year," added Robinson. "Until the province moves to a tax on income system that is fully indexed for inflation, Ontario should offset these silent tax hikes by returning this money to taxpayers through further tax reductions or year end adjustments."

The CTF's 15-page pre-budget submission also includes an analysis of the components of gas prices at the pump. The analysis shows that provincial expenditures on transportation are at record lows while the gas tax take has never been higher.

"Instead of wasting time and tax dollars looking for mythical price-fixing conspiracies, the province should haul the Premier, the Finance Minister and the Transportation Minister before this gas committee and demand to know why only 40% of gas taxes and associated motorist fees make their way back into the transportation budget," concluded Robinson. "If MPPs want lower gas prices, the province and the feds should lower gas taxes, it's that simple."