The Budget would be judged on how it fights the cost of living, defends jobs and combats corruption, Labour Leader Joseph Muscat said yesterday.
However, he added, the government had already failed on all counts by "irresponsibly" increasing the water and electricity rates days before the Budget was to be announced.
"This was probably done so that the utility rates would not be mentioned. They will say there were no tax increases but what is this if not an enormous tax?"
He said the government was going in for the Budget with a series of accusations of poor judgment and corruption, including recent alleged scandals involving Finance Minister Tonio Fenech. (Mr Fenech has denied allegations made in his regard over the weekend.)
He said Mr Fenech and the Prime Minister both needed to "come clean" and give a better explanation of the serious accusations levelled against them.
Dr Muscat argued that the utility tariffs were being raised carelessly, at the worst possible time and this was sending out the wrong message to businessmen and consumers alike.
It also reflected "dishonesty" on the government's part because the rates were not lowered when oil prices had dropped in the same way that they rocketed when oil prices soared.
He criticised the government for not giving the planned increases of the tariffs, stopping instead at the "wait and see" response.
Dr Gonzi was seeking to gain €86 million from the tariffs increase, which constituted 1.5 per cent of the economy, the same amount invested to help stimulate jobs.
"So first there are a lot of programmes, packages and initiatives for economic stimulus and then, with a stroke of the pen, all that money is sucked back up. No wonder consumer confidence is about the lowest it has been in history."
He said Dr Gonzi would take up many of the Labour Party's proposals, which was a good thing, but all the proposals would be undermined if the utility tariffs were increased.
Dr Muscat said his proposals included the need to set up a consumer agency, to rectify the situation at the Pitkalija, where prices of greens were among the highest in Europe, and to remove VAT on restaurants and tax on tourism.
He stressed the need for talks with banks to cut charges and to make sure that, by right, everyone who lost their job could apply for a year's moratorium on their home loan payments.
He said that businessmen who did things by the book should be rewarded not punished, so the eco tax also had to be looked into.
He said corruption was another "tax" that needed to go because taxpayers should not have to pay for money to be pocketed by corrupt middlemen.
The Nationalist Party said that instead of attending the Remembrance Day ceremony Dr Muscat opted to go to a partisan activity in a Labour Party club.
"Once again, Dr Muscat spoke as if the international economic crisis does not exist and gave a shopping list of taxes that should be reduced without saying how the government will get the money for them."
The PN said Dr Muscat insisted on being superficial and did not come up with one serious and concrete proposal to increase jobs, while painting a completely negative picture. He did not commit to lowering the water and electricity bills once in government.