This Wednesday, at 12.30pm, chancellor George Osborne will deliver his 2013 budget. With the UK on the brink of a triple-dip recession, and grumblings among backbenchers about the wisdom of his 'austerity first' course, it looks set to be Osborne's most scrutinised budget yet - and it will affect all of us directly, in terms of the tax we pay, the benefits we receive, and how much we'll be spending on our next bottle of 
. Many of the changes to taxes and benefits that will take effect this year (such as the increase in the personal tax allowance and the 1% cap on working-age benefits) were announced in December's mini-budget, but key areas that look set to be affected on Wednesday include pensions and childcare (the Daily Mail is already reporting that the government is set to unveil childcare tax breaks worth up to £1500.
With 48 hours to go before Osborne takes to the despatch box, what would your recommendations for this year's budget be?
-
Ought cutting the deficit to remain the priority - or should we be concentrating on generating growth by investing in infrastructure projects, even if it means increasing our borrowing in the short term?
-
Have spending cuts been implemented too quickly or should we be cutting harder to get through the pain faster?
-
Is the government doing enough to support families, and if not, what more could be done?
-
And how have the changes since last year's budget affected your households incomes - are you better or worse off?
We'll be glued to our screens in MNHQ on Wednesday, and will post the key announcements in the budget thread as they happen - please come and watch with us! And Mark Dampier, who guided us through events last year, will post as soon as possible after Osborne sits down with a roundup of the key points. But until then, let's come up with our own suggestions for what George should be concentrating on. Over to you.