-- CTF Says Bracket Creep Must Go; Takes Message to Martin Tomorrow --

OTTAWA: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today reacted to media reports suggesting timid tax relief measures will be in the forthcoming federal budget. Published media reports indicate that Finance Minister Paul Martin is poised to enact some $3 billion of tax relief later this month. This relief reportedly includes a five year phase out of the 5% federal surtax, a $1,000 increase in the basic personal exemption and future adjustments to the middle income tax rate and high income tax thresholds.

"Without restoring full-indexation to the tax system and ending bracket creep, these so-called tax cuts are nothing more than a shell game," stated CTF federal director Walter Robinson. "The national consensus on ending bracket creep is clear. Over 20 national and regional organizations representing millions of Canadians have called for an end to the annual $10 billion silent tax known as bracket creep."

"The government says it continues to target tax relief to lower-income and middle-income Canadians. This is simply not true," added Robinson. "Bracket creep punishes poor Canadians by eroding the value of their entitlement benefits. And at the beginning of this year alone, another 85,000 poor Canadians were pulled on to the tax rolls due to bracket creep. This is rank hypocrisy."

The CTF also released a list of 21 organizations and public policy experts representing a broad cross section of taxpayer, business and labour interests which demanded an end to bracket creep during last fall's national pre-budget consultations.

"Taxpayers are sick and tired of the tax cut shell game where so-called tax cuts basically disappear two and three years later due to bracket creep," stressed Robinson. "Paul Martin is stuck in the fantasy world of the politics of tax cuts, he must enter the real world and ensure that tax cuts are more than words in his budget speech, they need to show up on people's paycheques."

Mr. Robinson plans to reiterate this message when he meets with Finance Minister Paul Martin tomorrow morning. Mr. Robinson will be available for media comment in the lobby of L'Esplanade Laurier (140 O'Connor Street, Ottawa) tomorrow at 11am after his meeting with Minister Martin.



Organizations Demanding "The End of Bracket Creep"
(listed in Alphabetical Order)

British Columbia Chamber of Commerce

Caledon Institute of Social Policy

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Canadian Chamber of Commerce

Canadian Council on Social Development

Canadian Federation of Independent Business

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (Joshua Mendelsohn - Economist)

Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants

Canadian Labour Congress

Canadian Real Estate Association

Canadian Steel Producers Association

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Confédération des Caisse populaires et d'economie Desjardins du Québec

Confederation of National Trade Unions (CNTU - Quebec)

Laurentian Bank of Canada

National Council of Women of Canada

Nova Scotia Government Employees Union

Retail Council of Canada

Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce

Toronto Board of Trade

University of Western Ontario - Prof. David Laidlaw