The Finance Act 2011 provides that from April 2012 there is  a reduction in rate of writing down allowance from 20% to 18% for general pool.

The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) is being reduced from £100,000 to £25,000. The rate will be pro-rated for periods which straddle 1 April 2012 as it is in 2010.

Careful planning may be required in the run up to the reduction.Businesses planning their caopital expenditure should ensure, where possible, that their expenditure on plant maximises the 100% AIA.

Should you want more information, please contact Michael Fagelman on 01329 821900.

The rate of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation in the UK matched its record high in September, rising to 5.2% from 4.5% the month before.

An increase in energy costs was behind a large proportion of the rise.

The 5.2% rate is the highest CPI measure since September 2008, and it has never been higher since the CPI measure was introduced in 1997.

The Retail Prices Index (RPI) - which includes mortgage interest payments - rose to 5.6% from 5.2%.

The latest RPI measure is the highest annual rate since June 1991.

The Office for National Statistics, which released the data, said in a statement: "By far the largest upward pressure to the change in CPI... came from increases in gas and electricity charges.

"There were also large upward pressures from air transport and communication services."

September's CPI measure is way ahead of the Bank of England's target rate of 2%. However, Bank governor Mervyn King still expects inflation to begin falling next year, once factors such as January's VAT rise drop out of the equation.