In that case it would make no difference. Depreciation works like this: When you spend a million on equipment, you get to claim a certain percentage of its cos

In that case it would make no difference. Depreciation works like this: When you spend a million on equipment, you get to claim a certain percentage of its cost against taxes every year until you reach 100% and the equipment is projected to require replacement. For equipment with a projected lifetime of five years the percentage is 20%. For equipment that will be replaced next year the percentage is 100%, and this rule would makes no difference. Effectively, FedEx got to make claims in one year that it would otherwise have to spread over n future years.