Dear Paul,

On February 16 you will table your sixth budget as federal Finance Minister. And in an era of surpluses, which we prefer to call over-taxation, you are faced with some important choices.

In this context, we offer some last minute advice before the budget goes to print next week. Think of it as the 1999 Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) list of Do's and Don'ts.

Do make reasonable revenue projections using private sector growth forecasts as a model. make reasonable revenue projections using private sector growth forecasts as a model.

Don't cry wolf and drastically downgrade growth projections to catastrophic levels. While you've been quite adept at mastering expectations by under-committing and over-delivering on your deficit projections, Canadians have grown wise to this game and won't allow you to build slush funds for the "rainy days" of an election - namely your own. This practice is dishonest and demeans your credibility.

Do follow the Auditor General's advice and only book expenditures in years where you plan to actually spend the money.

Don't break these same public sector accounting rules (as you have done for three straight years - Millennium Foundation in '98, Innovation Fund in '97, Atlantic provinces HST harmonization in '96) by loading future commitment's in the 1998/99 budget year. Reports indicate that you may attempt this "cooking the books" slush fund technique with future health care commitments. Save yourself a world of hurt, and Don't try it.

Do provide tax relief to Canadians. Following the recommendations of the Finance Committee on increasing the Basic Personal Exemption and eliminating the remaining 3% federal surtax would be a good start. provide tax relief to Canadians. Following the recommendations of the Finance Committee on increasing the Basic Personal Exemption and eliminating the remaining 3% federal surtax would be a good start.

But Don't stop there. While you're at it, eliminate the 5% federal surtax as well. And Don't ignore the plague of "bracket creep", or as your officials call it, "the interaction between the tax system and rising incomes." According to the Finance Committee, which is dominated by loyal Liberal backbenchers, over 840,000 low-income Canadian families have been thrown onto the tax rolls because of bracket creep. Don't underestimate the growing public understanding and consequent anger that stems from this situation.

Do look at the studies by the CTF, KPMG, the C.D. Howe Institute, and the Caledon Institute on bracket creep. These studies are instructive and clear in their findings - at least $10 billion of the $75 billion that you rake out of our pockets in income taxes each year is a direct result of stealth taxation known as "bracket creep."

Don't wax eloquently about any tax relief you may provide in the forthcoming budget unless it is accompanied by an end to bracket creep and the restoration of full-indexation to the tax system. Doing so would be nothing more than a continuance of the shell game you have played with Canadian taxpayers in each of your five previous budgets. You have raised taxes through bracket creep in each of your budgets. And the effect on taxpayers in 1998 alone was staggering. wax eloquently about any tax relief you may provide in the forthcoming budget unless it is accompanied by an end to bracket creep and the restoration of full-indexation to the tax system. Doing so would be nothing more than a continuance of the shell game you have played with Canadian taxpayers in each of your five previous budgets. You have raised taxes through bracket creep in each of your budgets. And the effect on taxpayers in 1998 alone was staggering.

Finally, Do read our pre-budget submission. And read our pre-budget submission. And Don't underestimate the taxpayer wrath that will come your way if real tax relief is not included in the 1999 budget. underestimate the taxpayer wrath that will come your way if real tax relief is not included in the 1999 budget.