Thornton’s Malaysian Tax Commentaries, now in its fourth edition, is intended as an up-to-date and comprehensive source of legislation and a helpful work of reference on the law of direct taxation in Malaysia.


To keep the book to a convenient size, the Income Tax Act and the Real Property Gains Tax Act together with commentaries appear in the book while their subsidiary legislation and all materials relating to the Promotion of Investments Act and the Labuan Business Activity Tax Act are provided in the accompanying CD-ROM.


Considering that any tax practitioner or serious student needs to be well acquainted with the basic law, invaluable guidance is provided for users of this work by showing the way to what interests them where understanding and interpretation can be found. Users looking for something in particular, as well as those doing general studies and research will benefit from these useful features, aimed at facilitating a clear understanding of important statutory provisions:


• Comprehensive indexes
• Extensive references and cross-references to definitions and related provisions
• Helpful notes on the latest amendments
• Expert insight on salient points
• Important principles laid down by courts/special commissioners highlighted and explained


Self-assessment, now an integral part of our tax system, is given due treatment. Relevant provisions including compliance requirements are covered and explained. Where relevant, the commentaries on the Acts refer to and give cross-references to the considerable number of public rulings issued by the Inland Revenue Board to give their interpretations and clarifications on many topics.



The 2008 switch from the imputation system for dividends to the single tier system brought with it a six-year transition. Details of the relevant provisions of the Finance Act 2007 and Finance Act 2009 have been included in full, keeping readers informed about the effect of the transition.


All changes to the law up to and including those made by the Finance Act 2011 have been incorporated into this work. New and amended subsidiary legislation have also been included. For the convenience of readers who will still be settling their pre-2011 tax matters, the statutory provisions applicable as at year of assessment 2010 have also been inserted for the sake of completeness.


An invaluable repository of source materials on direct taxation in Malaysia and accompanying insightful commentaries, this work should not be missed by tax professionals and practitioners as well as those currently studying tax.