CORPORATION TAX
The Chancellor announced a one year deferment of the the increase in the small companies' corporation tax rate which remains at 21%. 

CAPITAL ALLOWANCES
The only significant change announced to the existing capital allowance regime is bringing in a 100% first year allowance for expenditure on new electric vans thus bringing them into line with electric cars and cars with very low emission levels of 110g/km or less. The allowance has effect for expenditure incurred on or after 1 April 2010 for corporation tax and 6 April 2010 for unincorporated businesses.

The Government temporarily introduced an enhanced first year capital allowance of 40 per cent for expenditure incurred in 2009/10, however this will come to an end as planned in April 2010.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
A restriction which denied the enhanced tax relief for research and development expenditure unless the claimant company held the derived intellectual property has been removed for expenditure incurred by a SME company in an accounting period ending on or after 9 December 2009.