Tread carefully, George

We can only hope that next week’s Budget doesn’t choke off the recovery just as the economy is starting to breathe again.With signs – such as the PMI data – that the UK is probably through the worst of it, we need further measures from the chancellor to reinvigorate business.

Consumers are facing another year of falling disposable incomes with oil and commodity prices rising, and a tough tax squeeze, so anything George Osborne can do to relieve the pressure on family budgets would be welcome.

Tax cuts for the poorest in our society would be a good thing in itself, as it might get those on low incomes spending in the high street again. But Osborne should not be tempted to load more tax onto the wealthier; for one thing a so-called mansion tax will bring in hardly any additional revenue, according to the experts. Indeed, it will cost more to compile the database of houses worth over £2 million and collect the tax than it would to leave things alone.