'We earn £60,000 and want stamp duty scrapped'

There have been many rumours about what the Budget will and won't include. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has signalled that both tax increases and spending cuts are on the agenda ahead of her address on Wednesday.

We spoke to people from various income levels about what they would like to see in the Budget. If there are topics you would like to see covered, you can contact BBC Your Voice.

'I make £60,000 and I want Stamp Duty cut'

Wesley Thorne, 52, and his partner Toni live near Bristol with their two children. They would like a larger house but claim Stamp Duty would add £15,000 to £20,000 to the cost of moving, so they want that tax cut in the Budget. In England and Northern Ireland, Stamp Duty is a tax payable if you buy a property above a certain price.

"I think it sounds like an immoral levy to [pay to] have a home," Wesley says. He suggests the Chancellor should "either abolish Stamp Duty entirely [or] just apply it to buildings of a much higher value."

Wesley and Toni run an online sweet shop and a market stall and are members of the Federation of Small Businesses. They currently turn over more than £60,000 a year, though the exact amount varies.

Cost pressures have "never been so bad," he says, adding that they are "hammered from every direction" by skyrocketing sugar and chocolate prices, increases in the National Living Wage, and rising business rates. Small businesses like theirs must register for VAT if their taxable turnover exceeds £90,000. Wesley would like this threshold to be raised.

'I'm on £22,000 and I want free bus travel for all students'

Liam Davidson is a third-year undergraduate researcher at the University of Aberdeen. He has an £800 monthly income, largely from working at a gym. He claims he has £200–£250 in disposable income after essential bills but has noticed that food prices have risen.

"I was down to about £50 last month with a week left," he says.

While young people under the age of 22 are eligible for free bus travel in Scotland, Liam wishes for the scheme to be extended to students of all age groups and to the rest of the UK.

"I'm spending £40 a week to get to and from uni; it's cheaper to drive," he says. The government said last month that offering free bus travel to everyone under the age of 22 in England would be "unaffordable."

'I earn £25,000 and want more spent on social housing'

Fatima Tehan Jalloh is a single mother living in council housing in north London. She loves her job as a Level 4 apprentice construction site supervisor. She works full-time and her daughter attends nursery, which costs £600 a month.

It is one of her biggest expenses, alongside rent and bills, and she claims the total cost of living has continued to rise. Despite that, she feels she is doing fine and believes the Chancellor should raise taxes to invest more in essential services.

"I would certainly be [willing] to pay more if I knew it was going to schools and that social housing would be on the rise," she says.

'We make £150,000 and have EVs. We should pay to use the roads'

Steve Williams is an IT consultant, and his wife is a counsellor. They are both self-employed and he says they make more than £150,000 a year. They live in Basingstoke and both commute in electric vehicles (EVs). Steve says he would have no issue with a rumoured 'pay-per-mile' tax.

"I use the roads, so I should pay for their upkeep at the end of the day," he says.

However, he argues that fairness is key. "You can tax petrol cars on their usage per mile," Steve says, noting that current talk suggests it might only apply to electric cars, which he feels is unfair.

'We make £67,000 and want more spent on the NHS'

Becki Oliver, 34, lives in Bourne, Lincolnshire, with her husband Tim and their two young children. She works as a PA at an estate agency and wants the Chancellor to tackle the increasing cost of living.

"We can't go out for meals; we're not treating the kids," she says. "Our last holiday was in 2019—we've never been away as a family."

"I know these things are luxury products, but it would be nice to have these luxury items available given how hard we work."

Becki is also worried about the stability of the NHS after having to take her son to the hospital. She wants the Chancellor to increase funding for the healthcare system.

"I just feel like money isn't being distributed in the right places," she says. "There are a lot of people in this world, and we need to be looked after."

'I'm on £32,000 and I'm worried about cuts to Motability'

Kat Watkins lives in Swansea and works for Disability Wales. Her earnings account for just under two-thirds of her household income, and she is eligible for Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Kat has osteogenesis imperfecta type 3 (brittle bone disease) and says she faces higher energy bills because she has to charge her wheelchair and other equipment. Her assistance dog, Purdey, costs more than £70 per month for insurance and food, and a new wheelchair service cost her almost £1,000.

"Some months are tough," she says. "I'd be in a lot more [trouble] if my PIP were cut."

The Budget may include revisions to the Motability scheme, which supports people with disabilities in leasing cars. Kat urges Reeves "not to mess with Motability," warning that cutting it is "not going to encourage people to get back to work at all."

'We make £100,000 but worry about retiring'

Neal Stead and his partner Tara work in administration—Neal in a contact centre. Neal says they don't face major financial challenges, having a combined income of about £100,000 and having paid off the mortgage on their Bradford home. But, at 58, he is worried about his retirement.

"When will I really afford to retire? That is my biggest concern as I approach later life. The goalposts seem to be moving," he says.

He does not want the Chancellor to "touch pensions," specifically hoping she avoids modifying the tax-free lump sum allowance for withdrawing pension savings.