Budget 2014: Business plead for 'certainty and stability' above 'political tinkering'

He added: “Businesses want to be able to take informed decisions and limit the risks that they have to bear; they are asking for a boring Budget on corporate tax.

“The overwhelming message coming through from our survey is that uncertainty is limiting the impact of the good work that has been done on the corporate tax rate, patent box, and Controlled Foreign Companies reforms.”

Even so, the barrage of demands for Mr Osborne’s fifth Budget has mounted in the final days. The Centre of Policy Studies has released 101 Budget measures it reckons will “crack the productivity puzzle and secure the recovery”. They include cutting capital gains tax, the earlier introduction of the 20pc corporation tax rate and privatising the Green Investment Bank.

Mr Osborne is under intense pressure to provide tax relief for young workers, the low paid and the large numbers of middle-income earners being sucked into the 40p tax rate.

The Chancellor is expected to scrap employers' National Insurance Contributions for the under-25s to help businesses and workers. He will also extend his controversial Help to Buy scheme to further boost house building as well as house buying.

Mr Osborne may also freeze carbon taxes in a bid to relief pressure on energy bills. However Caroline Escott, head of Government relations at the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF), said: “The recent record-breaking flooding highlighted the dangers posed to the UK and its economy by climate change. The Chancellor must resist the short-termist, short-sighted and reckless calls to shelve policies that will boost the move to a low-carbon economy and support long-term investment decisions.”

Economists have warned that Mr Osborne is unlikely to have much room to manoeuvre. Ruth Lea said: “Despite the better economic prospects, the public finances remain dire. Underlying borrowing will still be about £110bn nearly 7pc of GDP. There is no room for net 'giveaways' and we expect, therefore, a neutral Budget. This Budget may be seen as a 'taking stock' exercise with few significant announcements, bar the possible increase in the personal tax allowances from April 2015 which will benefit the lower paid.”

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