UK's Chancellor George Osborne said he would use his 2012 budget to help those at the bottom of the earnings ladder, hinting he could go further in lifting more people out of paying income tax.

"My priority is to help low and middle earners. That is where the bulk of the effort in the budget is going to be," he said on BBC television. "We want to see real and substantial progress on lifting low income people out of tax."

Osborne, under pressure to revive a stagnant economy with rising unemployment and a squeeze on household incomes, was expected to present a neutral budget on Wednesday, sticking to a tough austerity plan which critics say has stalled Britain's recovery from the global financial crisis.

Government officials have indicated economic forecasts for growth and government borrowing which underpin the budget will remain broadly in line with Osborne's so-called autumn statement in November, when the growth outlook was revised sharply lower.

Any effort to accelerate progress in raising the income tax threshold towards or above a 10,000 pound ($16,000) goal agreed between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in the coalition government could allow Osborne to removed a 50 percent income tax rate on high earners.