People living in NSW are being promised there'll be no surprise taxes in the upcoming budget, even though the state is expected to dive deeper into debt.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said it would be the "wrong approach" to raise taxes to fill the gap left by a drop in stamp duty and GST revenue.
"It might provide a short-term sugar hit to plug budget holes - but it burdens families, households and businesses with extra costs and causes long-term pain for the economy," he wrote in The Daily Telegraph on Thursday.
"Our budget will not introduce a single new tax."
Mr Perrottet said there was "no doubt" NSW's debt position will increase as the government continues to fund its massive infrastructure plan, but he insisted the state was in a very solid financial position.
"We have to make sure we have a manageable debt position in the state and we do, but - at the same time - that, combined with the roll out of infrastructure, provides challenges for us," he told the paper.
He and Premier Gladys Berejiklian did not rule out selling more assets to fund projects when they donned high-vis to mark a Sydney Metro milestone at Crows Nest on Thursday.
But Mr Perrottet said there were no current plans to and no moves to privatise assets would be revealed in Tuesday's budget.
Ms Berejiklian said the government will always look for opportunities to "better the community" but some assets - like water - would never be sold off because the public wouldn't be comfortable with it.
They maintained the state had enough money for Sydney's Metro West project after the treasurer told the Telegraph he would ask the federal government for up to $3 billion to help fund it.
"But we would benefit from the ability to bring things forward if we have extra funding," Ms Berejiklian told reporters.
Mr Perrottet said the coalition's priority will be to cut waste and make government's back-office more efficient to help fund frontline services.
The Berejiklian government has already announced a $350 million boost in funding for drought support ahead of the budget.
Australian Associated Press
