The Inland Revenue Board, Malaysia has issued Public Ruling No. 9/2013 on the Special Deduction for Expenditure on Treasury Shares (PR No. 9/2013). From the year of assessment 2013, the newly introduced section 34D of the ITA 1967 allows a special deduction to be made for the costs incurred in acquiring treasury shares by a company (with a business source) in order to fulfil its obligations under an employee share scheme (ESS). The salient points of PR No. 9/2013, which explains the tax treatment of the deduction, are summarized below. Deduction The special deduction allowed against the gross business income...