As Chancellor Gordon Brown dusted down his red briefcase this afternoon, and prepared for tomorrow's Budget, last-minute bets were being placed on what it might contain.

But will you be among the winners, losers, or also-rans? Some pundits are predicting a controversial Budget after the Post Office was asked by the Treasury to prepare for a massive post-Budget mailshot to every household nationwide.

Official sources insist the unprecedented consultation exercise is the result of a pre-election promise made by Mr Brown to keep taxpayers better informed on how their money is spent.

With the recovery balanced between recovery and recession, the Chancellor is believed to be keen to use the Budget to help people find work by building on measures which have already been implemented or are in the pipeline.

Mr Brown has already dropped hints about measures to help families with children, fuelling speculation he will revive plans vetoed last year to tax child benefit for higher earners, using the proceed to lift payments to families on low incomes.

In a speech last month he said his Budget would ensure public finances stayed on track. One possibility is he will introduce the long-promised 10p tax rate.

He said inflation had been brought down to historically low levels by Labour's decision to give the Bank of England independence and put in place a new framework for monetary policy.

But he held out the prospect of tax breaks for small businesses to stimulate research and development. This will be a blow among Yorkshire small-to-medium-sized businesses, which have been hoping the Chancellor will introduce new measures to encourage investment - ie a reduction in taxes - in a sector which accounts for around one-fifth of the UK's gross domestic product.

An added benefit to small-to-medium enterprises would be the extension of first-year allowances for another year, maintained at the current 40 per cent rate, which would continue to assist such businesses to maintain and expand their capital investment.

Owner-managed businesses often struggle to invest in the necessary research and development expenditure as they have insufficient taxable profits to obtain tax relief. A new system of refundable tax credits would enable them to immediately receive the benefit of tax relief when they need it.

Michael Backhouse, tax partner with York-based chartered accountants Garbutt & Elliott, wants a budget in which changes are part of a "well thought-out plan."

He said: "In each of his two Budgets I was left thinking Mr Brown had made changes that were either very carefully designed to impact unfairly, or alternatively had simply not been thought through.

"My hope for this Budget is for something that has been given careful consideration. I know it is the Chancellor's job to raise taxes, but I have been a little surprised at how he has raised some of it over his first two years."

On the motoring front, it is clear that UK motorists want a fair deal in return for the enormous sums they pay in motoring taxation. An AA spokesman said: "An urgent review on how transport is paid for in the UK is desperately needed."

The Freight Transport Association, which represents the transport interests of 12,000 companies moving goods by road, rail, sea and air, wants the Chancellor to freeze the rate of duty on diesel and also the rate of vehicle excise duty on commercial vehicles.

Meanwhile, Paul Murphy, chief executive of the York Inward Investment Board, who was today returning from a trade mission to Taiwan, wants measures which improve the global competitiveness of the UK economy.

"In addition, anything encouraging the North American market place will be good news for York," he said.

This was endorsed by Barry Graham, chairman of the CBI's Regional Council for Yorkshire and the Humber, who added: "Measures taken to boost the national economy will, naturally, be good for the region."

The British Chambers of Commerce have suggested there should be no capital gains tax liability on business investments held for five years and that smaller companies should qualify for 100 per cent tax relief on the first £250,000 annual capital investment.

Chief executive of the York & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, Roland Harris, is calling for a "broadly-neutral" budget. He said: "In addition, there are three areas on which we want Mr Brown to focus: management of the national economy, an increase of productivity in business; and a reduction in the burden, taxation and regulation of businesses.

"In addition, we would like to see pro-active views taken on share options and profit-related pay, with appropriate tax concessions up to a certain level. This is particularly important for small high-growth companies.

"Within the same area we would also like to see a review and reduction of capital gains tax."

But, fears are rising that Potentially Exempt Transfer (PETs) will be abolished, so inheritance tax is charged on gifts in a lifetime.

This would prevent shares or interests in a business from being passed over to the next generation without incurring the 40 per cent inheritance tax charge, which could severely impair the natural progression of a growing small business.

ProShare has called on the Government to develop a new Employee Share Ownership scheme which could be linked to the Individual Savings Account and retirement planning.

In its representations for the Budget, the Institute of Directors says taxes should not be increased and public spending should be kept under tight control.

The institute's regional director, Stan Hardy, hopes the Budget will be fairly neutral, concentrating more on tidying up anomalies and simplifying some areas, such as the capital gains tax rules introduced in 1998.

"The Chancellor must keep public spending under strict control. The economy is too finely balanced to stand any radical changes or new tax generators. Fiscal policy needs to be cautious. The Government's projections of stability could be proved wrong," he said.

"I would also like to see simplification of National Insurance by its incorporation into PAYE. This would particularly save small businesses considerable time and money."

Construction companies want the Chancellor to help them wipe out cowboy builders by reducing VAT on domestic repair and maintenance work to five per cent.

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