Tax breaks for IT purchases and other capital expenditures are just a few pen strokes away. President Bush has said he will sign H.R. 3090, an economic stimulus package that sailed through the Senate on Friday on a 85-9 vote.

The House on Thursday overwhelmingly approved (417-3) the legislation, which would let companies write off 30% of capital expenditures up front and then depreciate the rest over a set period of time, often five years for IT purchases. Currently, businesses get no up-front write-off for capital expenditures.

The bill will be good news for the unemployed tech workforce because it extends unemployment benefits, adding 13 weeks to the current limit of 26 weeks.