No tax increases expected in N.B. budget

New Brunswick Finance Minister Victor Boudreau will bring down his second budget in the legislature Tuesday afternoon.

On Monday, he chatted with reporters at a clothing store while he bought a new tie for the occasion, but he had little to say about the budget that he hasn't said before.

"It's going to be a modest budget. It's going to be a budget that's going to be balanced, with a modest surplus, and we're going to be able to make some of the key investments we need to make to move closer to self-sufficiency, which is the ultimate goal of the government," Boudreau said.

However, the minister has previously outlined roughly what to expect in the budget.

In a speech March 7, Boudreau said the budget will include the province's largest-ever capital expenditures.

It will be balanced, he said, but decisions had to be made that will result in cuts to some programs.

"The pie is only so big, and if we're to make some strategic investments, it means that other programs are going to have to do with less, and that's the difficult decision," Boudreau said.

Times are tough and revenue projections are not as rosy as they should be, he said.

Money for health care

Health care, education and economic development are the budget's main areas of focus, said the minister. Money will be allocated to hire more health-care workers and to reduce wait times for patients.

The 2008-2009 fiscal year will also bring proposals for reformed tax structures for business, he said, but it won't see a reduction in its taxes.

"At the end of the day, we still need that revenue," he said.

"We need the revenue that we now generate in the province to pay for all the social programs and services that we provide."