TOMORROW Chancellor George Osborne will deliver his Autumn Statement.

Considered the most important announcement on the Government’s financial plans apart from the Budget, businesses across Hampshire will be watching the House of Commons keenly tomorrow lunchtime.

As revealed in the Daily Echo yesterday, a £15 billion investment in the UK’s roads that will be part of the statement will see improvements to major routes in the south, including the M3, M27, M271 and A31.

Taxes are expected to form a major part of the speech, with announcements on personal tax, corporation levies and evasion and avoidance all expected from Mr Osborne in the last Autumn Statement before next May’s General Election.

There is expected to be a pledge to spend an extra £1.5 billion a year on the NHS, while there could be announcements on business rate reform and new loans for postgraduate university students.

Following his party’s pledge to make tax cuts at the Conservative Party conference earlier this year, pundits are speculating about how the Chancellor will balance tax breaks with continuing austerity measures.

Southampton-based Baker Tilly expect a lifetime cap on the total amount that can be invested in ISAs to be introduced, as well as new tax restrictions on pension contributions.

The firm says Mr Osborne is likely to maintain low corporation taxes and reliefs aimed at supporting business growth, while he is expected to announce measures to crack down on tax avoidance and evasion.

John Taylor, tax partner at Baker Tilly’s Southampton office, said: “With the General Election drawing closer and this being the last Autumn Statement before people vote, Mr Osborne will have the difficult task of introducing vote-winning promises on tax.

“Although these promises are crucial to winning votes the Chancellor will have to consider how these cuts will be paid for, along with the need to find annual savings of £45 billion, as tax alone could not fund the austerity measures, even without the tax gap of £34 billion.”

Paul Duckworth, partner in tax services to business at Southampton-based Smith & Williamson, expects the inheritance tax threshold to increase to £1m. He said: “This would appeal to swathes of middle-class families, notably in London and the south-east, who have seen house prices rise dramatically in recent years.”

And he says small and medium-sized businesses may benefit from a simplification in employment taxes, adding: “The mooted abolition of the £8,500 threshold for benefits-in-kind, coupled with a trivial exemption and automatic dispensation from including some benefits on a form P11D, will make it easier for employers, especially small organisations, to run their payroll.”

There is also expected to be more details on plans to give areas such as Greater Manchester and Leeds more power over funding currently controlled by Whitehall.

Despite discussions taking place between council leaders in Hampshire over the potential for a Solent or Hampshire combined authority, the statement is likely to be too soon for the region to be mentioned.