Businessman Mr Ian Martin (54) of Martin Services is advocating a cautious approach for the Minister in his first budget as he believes a wrong turn at this juncture could prove disastrous.
Like bodies such as IBEC and the Small Firms Association, he is wary of an over-generous budget that could produce a mini-boom, which ultimately may turn sour.
"It's an important time for the country. The oil crisis is going to increase prices over the next 12 months and that's something that is beyond the Minister's control.
"So we need to take into account these external factors and not introduce too much money back into the country, which will cause an instant boom, with wages spiralling out of control and all the rest."
Mr Martin is also keeping his fingers crossed that there will be no more stealth taxes introduced. He does a lot of business in the North and is concerned that the operating costs are so much lower there.
"Whether in business or as a householder, there are so many hidden costs. For example, the bin charges. That's €300 we didn't have to pay five years ago.
"I would like to see a level playing field between Britain and here. One method of doing this is to reduce levels of VAT to bring them more in line with Britain.
"Consumers and business alike are buying goods abroad and bringing them back here. They're saving 4 per cent on every deal, and regardless of the tax, the cost is money lost to the economy."
Mr Martin owns Martin Services, a company supplying first-aid and hygiene products. For him, the current tax bands are restrictive on middle-earners and employers like himself, especially with the "prohibitive" costs of education.
He believes the top tax bands should be left as they are, and the Minister should focus on the bottom bands so that families with children going through second or third-level education aren't squeezed out.
"I'd also like to see a ceiling put on PRSI. It's a double tax in effect," he says.
Finally, with benchmarking high on the agenda again, Mr Martin stresses "something has to be done about the public sector. For non-producers they seem to accept it as a God- given right that they should get continued substantial wage increases. And it's the taxpayer bearing the brunt."
