With a flurry of funding pledges having already been announced ahead of the Chancellor's Autumn Budget, it's difficult to tell how many surprises there will be on Wednesday.
The Treasury has already put out statements including billions of pounds for transport, health R&D and a "skills revolution" - and a £6bn commitment to the NHS to cut waiting lists.
There are still likely to be further policies announced by Rishi Sunak when he addresses the House of Commons - and North West leaders and experts have been making their predictions and laying out what they want to hear.
READ MORE: 'Don't put up taxes' - CBI president's message to Chancellor ahead of Budget
Robert White, CEO at independent law firm Brabners said that given the current inflationary squeeze on many northern households, levelling up "must feature heavily" in the announcement.
He said: "The Chancellor is expected to deliver to some extent already, with investment in areas including regionally relevant technology skills, brownfield housing and transport.
"However, as we continue to emerge from the pandemic, now is the time to connect tactical regional spending with a clearly developed and communicated ‘strategy for the north’.
"Along with today’s budget, I hope that we get a better sense of that from the government’s long-awaited Integrated Rail Plan next month, where the revised budget will indicate just how much the pandemic has or hasn’t curtailed ambitions for Northern Powerhouse Rail.”
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Kevin Duffy, RSM 海角视频’s regional managing partner for the North West, called for "real action" to ‘level up’ and better support middle market businesses.
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He said: "The Chancellor appears to be in an unenviable position where he needs to demonstrate how he will simultaneously achieve four fiscal objectives – bringing public finances under control; ensure the health and social care levy is fit for purpose; address the climate emergency; whilst keeping some capacity to announce mooted pre-election tax cuts in 2023 or 2024?"
According to Mr Duffy, North West firms can expect confirmation of the introduction of a residential property developer tax to help fund building safety measures; and confirmation of the introduction of a 1.25 per cent increase in the rate of income tax on dividends.
That follows legislation to implement the Health and Social Care Levy and a temporary increase in National Insurance contributions for the 2022/23 tax year.
He added: "In addition, its quite likely that we’ll see an increase in the national minimum wage from £8.91 to £9.42 – highlighting a potential triple hit on the bottom line for North West businesses.
"What businesses’ need is clarity around the energy crisis, particular the large number of regional manufacturers that are facing soaring energy prices, which is undermining the profitability and viability of the business. In addition, we know ailing infrastructure is hampering business growth across the region.
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"Whether it’s giving the go-ahead to the Northern Powerhouse Rail plans or committing to speed up the 5G rollout, businesses really need to see the ‘levelling up agenda’ translate into real commitment to invest to ensure they can plan effectively."
Zeeshan Syed, economics expert at the University of Salford Business School, said the Budget needs to "strike the balance between spending and taxation".
Mr Syed said: “Jobs at a record high, national debt levels declining, housing prices soaring, and a public ever more confident is the picture of post-Covid 海角视频.
"However, the last time we had such a picture of the economy we were close to the 2008 downturn.
“The man in charge knows this very well and it is why he is trying his level best to keep expectations down.
"The change in circumstance is so stark that the Bank of England, which was asking banks to prepare for negative interest rates a year ago, is now weighing interest rate rises and monetary tightening.
"The Chancellor that once was saying whatever 'it takes to' is now asking the public to acquiesce in belt-tightening.
“The budget needs to strike the balance between spending and taxation. It is time now that chancellor introduced taxes on property investors to deter property speculators. He needs to decide whether to continue as a consuming nation or take our first steps towards becoming export-oriented nation."
He said the "good news" is that the Chancellor enjoys "huge political capital" for making bold decisions, adding: "His political opponents are at their weakest point in history and his political leader is at the zenith of his career. This gives him the space to make bold decisions.
“Rishi can provide support to the levelling up agenda and to help create several mini-Londons outside London. In essence this the first post-Brexit budget, it is imperative he shares with us the conservative vision of post-Brexit Britain.”
Matthew Johnson, associate partner at Lancashire based accountants and business advisors WNJ, said that while trying to aid the economy’s post-pandemic recovery, Mr Sunak "must grapple with the deficit and the highest figure of government borrowing since the end of the Second World War".
Mr Johnson said that despite the Chancellor’s publicly stated desire to cut taxes, it is "very unlikely" that we will see that happen in this Budget.
He added: "At the same time an increase in income tax or movement or national insurance is not seen to be on the agenda.
"Business is still assessing the impact of the September announcement that national insurance contributions and dividend tax rates will increase by 1.25 per cent from April 2022, with the projected £12bn annual income ringfenced to pay for health and social care.
"That followed the Chancellor’s March announcement of an increase in Corporation Tax from 2023, with a new rate of 25%. It came with plans to create a ‘Small Profits Rate’, for companies with profits of less than £50,000, which will be kept at the current 19 per cent level.
"There is speculation that Capital Gains Tax could rise on October 27, with rates aligned more with income tax rates.
"However, Inheritance Tax rates are set to remain unchanged and with the soaring cost of fuel and recent shortages at the pumps, a fuel duty increase is also seen as unlikely.
"Any increase on alcohol duty would have a detrimental impact on the hospitality industry, one of the worst impacted by the pandemic, as it looks towards its recovery.
"There have been reports of a possible simplification of the alcohol tax system which could lead to a cut in the price of beer and wine, something that would be widely welcomed in the industry."
He said firms would like to see "some movement" on business rates that are having a "dramatic impact" on the high street".
Mr Johnson added: "It may be the chancellor feels he has to make some move, especially to aid smaller ventures. The same goes for support for business growth.
"The Federation of Small Businesses is calling for more focus on helping employers create new jobs and deliver skills. It wants to see more being done to tackle employment costs, including increasing the Employment Allowance."
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SME accounting expert, Birkenhead-based The Accountancy Partnership is hoping to see the government ramp up support for small businesses as the country recovers from the pandemic.
Lee Murphy, managing director, said: “The focus of the Autumn Statement will be the ongoing economic recovery following Covid, so the announcement will detail what will happen as emergency support is phased out and whether recovery support will be introduced.
“We would hope to see financial support for small businesses in some form introduced, whether that is a revised approach to business rates, grants or investment schemes.
"Rebuilding from the pandemic is not going to be instant, and with ongoing adjustments following Brexit, the government needs to recognise the importance of the small business community’s contribution to the overall economy and allocate budget accordingly."
He added: “An efficient way of funding Covid recovery through the tax system would be the introduction of tax bands’ for corporations, which will increase the rate of corporation tax paid by the highest earners.
"This would be an opportunity to also reduce the lowest rate of corporation tax paid to the agreed minimum of 15%.
“This would mean that as well as increasing the tax collected from bigger businesses, it will act as an incentive for start-ups, or for businesses moving to the 海角视频.
"This will likely generate more tax revenue overall, and help businesses reach the higher rate thresholds, eventually generating more tax income from them too. In addition, this would lead to more jobs, better infrastructure and growth of talent.”
Time Finance said it has "joined the charge" to protect small businesses with a caution that the Government must focus on measures to accelerate SME growth in the Chancellor's Budget.
Ed Rimmer, the Manchester-based CEO at Time Finance, called on the Chancellor to "make it a Budget for growth, not paying back".
He said: “We have seen some incredible signs of recovery and growth amongst our clients, the majority of whom have come out of the pandemic fighting.
"They are investing for growth, expanding their workforce, and investing in new products and services; all of that will be put in jeopardy if the Government does not put the correct systems in place.
"SMEs make up 99% of the 海角视频’s business community and account for half of the turnover of the 海角视频 private sector; they create jobs and wealth and so their contributions to the economy are extremely valuable.
"Putting them at risk would also put the 海角视频’s economic recovery at risk."
He said the survival of small businesses and continued economic recovery relies on two "vital measures" in the Chancellor’s Budget.
He explained: "First and foremost, the Government must make a pledge to safeguard taxes on small businesses. We don’t expect to see further changes to corporation tax; they would be unnecessary given the recent tax changes that are paying back into the treasury.
"I would also hope to see an extension to the retail rates relief to help the sector get back on its feet.
“Secondly, the Government must invest in skills training. The ONS recently reported that 海角视频 job vacancies were at a 20-year high, standing at 1.1m with workforce shortages hitting construction and manufacturing the hardest.
"The Government needs to address this urgently and ensure its National Skills Fund fills the gaps in talent supply, caters to the areas of greatest need and furthermore, that it feeds directly into the recruitment needs of the business community."
He said no one will envy the task at hand for Mr Sunak, adding: "Rebuilding the public finances will require a lot of tough decisions but there are some good signs of recovery.
"This will undoubtedly be aided by the recent agreement reached by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to implement a global minimum corporation tax rate of 15%. "This is good news received with caution; the Government must now look at its own legislation to ensure there are no loopholes under this new threshold.
"There has also been rumour that the new threshold could result in the loss of the relatively new digital service tax, a valuable revenue stream that the Government should safeguard. There is no question that a lot has been done to support the 6m SMEs in the 海角视频 over the past 18 months.
"Now is no time to undo that great work.”