"Tax cuts on way, Tories, NDP say," was the Winnipeg Free Press front-page headline on Thursday, August 19. To be sure, the NDP are not campaigning on property tax cuts, only a municipal government could pull off that elusive trick. Instead, Gary Doer's magicians are invoking a higher property tax credit. If elected, the NDP will increase the credit from $255 to $325.

The property tax credit idea frankly stinks. Where Mr. Doer will find the money for the credit remains a mystery. Will income taxes or consumption taxes be used to subsidize property owners

The property tax credit is a band-aide solution that deals only with the symptoms of high property taxes. It should be abolished and offset with the elimination of the provincial education support levy. Education costs could be lowered by scaling back the number of school boards in the province.

Let the municipalities cut municipal tax and the province cut provincial tax. Public enemy number one is still personal income tax.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation today announced an income tax relief plan for Election '99. The campaign is supported by print and billboard advertising throughout the province.

The CTF's Election '99 message is: Need a raise Vote for income tax cuts. The answer to the growing frustration over shrinking disposable incomes, brain drain and tax cut brinkmanship with other provinces is to dramatically cut and reform personal income taxes.

A cut in the provincial personal income tax rate is better than a salary raise of the same amount because a raise is taxable. The impact of bracket creep waters down the value of a raise even more.

The CTF income tax relief plan:

• That provincial personal income tax be calculated as a percentage of income, not federal tax;
  
• That a single rate of taxation competitive with other provinces be introduced;
  
• That a generous basic personal exemption - in the $11,000 range set by Alberta - be set to insulate low income earners from the tax roles;
  
• That the basic personal exemption be fully indexed to inflation to offset the effect of bracket creep;
  
• That no new tax credits be introduced;
  
• In the meantime, the CTF calls for a seven-point income tax cut in 1999 equal to this year's extra $166 million in income tax revenue over 1998, and a commitment by the province to apply the fiscal surplus against debt retirement.

The CTF's tax reform plan including the seven-point personal income tax cut would return to Manitoba taxpayers the wealth they created in the first place, restore confidence in badly needed labour pools and financiers, close the inter-provincial tax gap, and create jobs.

Pint size tax cuts in the last two provincial budgets are not closing the income tax gap with other provinces. According to Deloitte & Touche calculations, an average $40,000 income earner in Manitoba will pay $10,774 in income taxes in 1999 - the third highest in the land. At 48.5% in 1999, Manitoba's personal income tax rate trails 4.5 points behind Alberta and 9 points behind Ontario. By 2004, Ontario will breeze 14.5 points ahead of Manitoba. Premier Gary Filmon says that's cause for alarm. "In just four years, the taxpayers of Manitoba will be paying almost 50 per cent more in provincial income taxes than our neighbours in Ontario," noted the Premier.

Election '99 must make income tax cuts and tax reform priority number one. All other election promises of renewed spending hinge on Manitoba's ability to develop a competitive tax system first.