When a business buys equipment for long term use (computers, furniture, vans and the like - most assets of that nature qualify), it can usually set the cost against its profits before working out its tax bill. This tax year, every business can deduct the first £100,000 of investment against its taxable profits in that way. Obviously, that £100,000 allowance covers most of us! Any excess will get tax relief eventually, but on a much slower basis.
Next year (i.e. from April 2012), that allowance is going down to £25,000. That will still cover the entire spend of most small businesses, of course. But there are some businesses that invest more each year - and some small businesses could spend more if they had a big one-off project, like an office move or a big new IT system.
So, if you're in that position, you might want to look at bringing forward some spending so that it falls under the period covered by the £100,000 allowance rather than later on, when only the first £25,000 of your investment will save tax in the first year.
It's potentially a bit more complicated than that, but those are the basics. Talk to your accountant if you think it could be an issue for you.
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