Another casual name for the accelerated cost recovery system (ACRS). It is a tax accounting technique that determines the rate of depreciation of tangible assets for tax calculations. This system, originally instituted in the United States by the Economic Recovery Act (1981), was designed to decrease tax rates in the early years of putting an asset into productive use, so that investments produce more profits, especially during the early years of an asset’s useful life. It used to apply a 150% or 200% declining balance depending on the expected productive life of various categories of assets. In 1986, this system was replaced by the modified accelerated cost recovery system (MACRS).