Parliament will today hear Finance Minister Paula Cox's first Budget Statement.

But Works and Engineering Minister Ashfield DeVent may deliver a statement on the controversial senior school construction project at Berkeley after adding $13 million to the school bill in an announcement yesterday..

The Budget is widely expected to have at least a slightly bitter taste for some as Government tries to navigate the effects of last year's hurricane, address demands from the local business community and its own stated goal of putting a greater focus on social issues.

"Sin taxes" on cigarettes and alcohol could be targeted, along with land tax.

Dr. Gibbons said he expects to see tax increases.

"What I expect basically is Government has obviously been put under a lot of pressure to deliver on issues like housing ? both emergency and affordable housing, on seniors issues ? from health care to pensions, and there has been a lot of tough talk about crime recently, so there would presumably be a lot of effort to provide assistance to the Police and Prosecutions," said Dr. Gibbons last night.

"But the challenge the Government has is it has effectively spent over $3 billion over the last five years and it has very little to show for it. "And they are now having to approach a new Budget with a lot of pressure to deliver. what I fear is another round of large tax increases in order to pay for things which really should have been addressed over the last five years"