By bizn_fun 
Expect hints that those with deeper pockets to bear brunt of tax risespublished at 06:29 GMT
Dharshini David
Deputy economics editor
Pain – but for a purpose. The chancellor’s speech is geared towards preparing us for tax rises – and convince us that they’re worthwhile to cut debt and improve public services.
If she’s to stick to her spending plans, then tax rises worth tens of billions of pounds will be needed to meet her rules.
Several billion pounds of that will be required due to policy U-turns made by the government, such as over welfare. The rest will have to compensate for higher borrowing costs and a more downbeat assessment of the economy’s potential.
There will be hints that those with deeper pockets will bear the brunt of tax rises.
However, the performance of our public services depends on more than just cash (and the chancellor pledged billions more in last year’s Budget).
Official figures indicate that in the year after Labour came to power, the public sector, and in particular healthcare, became less efficient, productivity dropped. There’s more work to be done if we’re to get bang for our buck.
And there’s more work to be done on the Budget itself, with the Treasury still deciding exactly what goes in or not. We all want to know exactly which taxes are going to rise – but we’ll likely have to wait until 26 November to find out.
It’s going to be a long few weeks.