With just a week to go before Budget Day, the Progressive Labour Party is challenging Government to keep its election campaign promise to reduce the debt without cutting services.Shadow Finance Minister David Burt is also questioning Government’s stated intention to enact legislation to bolster its Spending and Government Efficiency Commission and repeated concerns expressed during the election that handing payroll tax cuts to employers for new Bermudian hires could drain government coffers.“The PLP expects the Minister of Finance to keep his word to the people of Bermuda when he said that he would reduce the country’s debt.“We look forward to a timeline for debt reduction and how he expects to accomplish this while avoiding cuts to government services,” Mr Burt said.He added that the party is anxious to see how Government would implement its payroll tax cut for new Bermudian hires.On the SAGE Commission he said: ‘We question why legislation is required to enact this commission given the Government of the day already has the full power to reform government and make whatever changes they feel necessary and to act on recommendations from any body.“We hope that the OBA Government is not attempting to hand an unelected commission the powers that the Cabinet, which is responsible to Parliament, has been granted by the Bermuda Constitution.”Finance Minister Bob Richards said last week that the Commission members had been chosen and he wanted it to have broad powers to recommend changes that would make government more efficient.Government is also facing pressures from the business community to continue payroll tax relief that was granted by the former administration.“We appreciate that there is a need for Government to increase revenue however we trust that any changes will be in support of a recovery and will not increase costs to businesses which are still suffering from the current depressed economy,” said Ronnie Viera, President of the Chamber of Commerce.“Certainly our restaurant and retail members are looking forward to a further extension of the payroll tax relief beyond April 2013.“As has been stated before, this alone has kept some of them in business.”Mr Viera is also hoping that the budget will “be the first positive indicator of Government’s intention to reduce spending and address the Island’s spiralling debt” and that Government will produce a plan to address its underfunded pension liability.Buddy Rego, President of the Chambers real estate division, said that industry was hoping to see the abolition of license fees for purchasers who are non Bermudian or permanent residents.“Real estate transactions form an integral part of the key pillars in Bermudas economy and encouraging activity once again is critical to our revitalisation.”Economist Robert Stewart insists that Government should reduce MP and ministerial salaries by 30 percent instead of a “token” ten percent, cut civil service jobs and reduce government spending by 20 percent.“Accomplish the above three items, and every Bermudian would be significantly better off, the economy would improve, and our debt level would fall.“But then I do not believe in Santa Claus, the Easter bunny and the Tooth Fairy. I suspect I will be disappointed.”Mr Richards has already warned the country that the state of the country’s finances is such that more borrowing will be necessary.The debt ceiling will be increased again, he said on January 16, but budgets going forward will be “ironclad” and increasing fiscal discipline applied throughout the civil service.“The inescapable reality is that Bermuda’s present economy cannot carry the government as it is presently structured and sized without implementing crippling tax increases,” he said.“Your government does not want to go this route.“Rather, we will focus our maximum efforts to streamline and deregulate the economy and implement the stimulus measures that we outlined in our Jobs & Economic Turnaround Plan.“The immediate need is to grow the economy in ways that increase the amount of job-creating dollars in the economy and therefore revenues to government.”