by Trevor Sturgess

As the Chancellor of the Exchequer puts the finishing touches to the final Budget of this Parliament - possibly his last ever - a Kent business expert has claimed it could well be a waste of time.

Alistair Darling will today try to pull off a balancing act that needs to address the whopping financial deficit while avoiding further alienating voters just weeks before a General Election.

His fellow MPs will not welcome the promise of more tax rises a few weeks before they want voters to renew their faith in New Labour.

But the markets will not want to see a giveaway Budget stuffed with the promise of goodies to come and little about reducing the deficit.

Desmond High, director of EMC Management Consultants in Maidstone and an expert on business and corporate finance, claimed that none of the announcements would be implemented in the life of this Parliament.

"Otherwise, what is the point of him even standing up?" he said. "I guess we can expect plenty of rhetoric about a return to growth and prosperity but will we see any recognition of the need to contain and control the level of Government spending?"

He said the annual Budget was no longer "a thing of wonder".

Tax rates and excise duty changes would be announced a few weeks before the start of the new tax year on April 6 and motorists would rush to fill up at the pumps before midnight.

"But with the rise of the pre-budget statement, and the trend for announcing (or hiding away in the small print of Treasury press notices) income tax and National Insurance rises some year or two in advance, the importance of the March budget has long reduced," he said.

Ian Clark, regional managing director of Maidstone-based Absolute Invoice Finance called on the Chancellor to show commitment to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which were the "engine room of the economy".

"In this critically important Budget, it is crucial that he considers a series of measures aimed at boosting the fortunes of SMEs in this continued challenging economic climate, he said."

Meanwhile, speculation is mounting that Mr Darling will announce the abolition of stamp duty on house prices under £250,000 and a possible freeze on fuel duty to defuse public anger with escalating pump prices.

But Mr Darling said a few days ago that the Budget would be no Christmas tree. So don’t expect Santa Claus to come out of 11 Downing Street today (24) brandishing the traditional red box. He will want to be seen to be prudent in tight economic circumstances.

But equally expect the politician in Mr Darling to come bearing gifts of one sort or another in the hope of helping his party at the ballot in a few weeks’ time.