A Sussex tax expert said there has never been a better time to sell a business.

Ray Chidell, tax partner at accountancy firm Mazars Neville Russell's Brighton office, said: "For the next 12 months, the tax man is offering the best opportunity in a generation to sell a business and it may never be quite as good again."

This year's Budget is to be later than usual, on April 17, but some of the tax changes are already known.

Mr Chidell said individuals selling a business could reduce their tax liabilities if they qualified for business taper relief.

From the start of the new tax year, they would only need to have owned their business for two years to qualify for maximum relief. This could mean paying tax of ten per cent instead of 40 per cent.

Those aged over 50 might still qualify for an additional tax reduction, known as retirement relief, taking the tax rate down even further.

But Mr Chidell warned this extra relief was only there for another year, disappearing from April 2003.

He said: "The tax year beginning this weekend will offer a chance to sell a business with a tax bill that may never be as low again. Potential vendors should not leave it too long - selling a business does not happen overnight."

Adrian Alexander, the firm's head of corporate finance for the Southern Region, operates a business sales network in the South-East.

He said: "To get the full benefit of the combined tax breaks, it would normally be necessary to sign contracts for the sale before April 6, 2003".

Mr Chidell and Mr Alexander can be contacted on 01273 206788.