Singapore announced the extension of a number of support measures for businesses in its 2021 Budget, released on February 16, 2021.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore has released guidance for companies on filing a corporate income tax return this year.

The Philippines Department of Finance has issued a statement warning against the introduction of a new tax on the super wealthy.

The European Commission has approved a Cypriot scheme involving the grant of tax breaks to private investors – both natural persons and corporate investors – who invest into early-stage, innovative SMEs.

Authorities in Cambodia have announced a further two-year delay to the implementation of a capital gains tax.

On May 21, 2020, the Italian Revenue Agency issued a summary of additional tax measures in Decree 34/2020, which are intended to further support taxpayers affected by the COVID-19 virus.

The European Commission has approved under state aid rules four Italian tax schemes to support companies and self-employed workers affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

Austria and Italy have signed an agreement clarifying the tax rules for frontier workers who are working at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On July 10, 2020, the Italian tax authority issued a ruling to explain the rules concerning tax credits for expenditure on adapting workplaces to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

On July 24, 2020, a Council Implementing Decision was published in the official journal of the European Union authorizing the extension of Italy's value-added tax split payment mechanism scheme, applicable to contracts with public sector entities.

The Italian Government will allow tax payments that were deferred during the COVID-19 lockdown to be paid in instalments over a two-year period.

On December 23, 2020, Switzerland and Italy signed a new agreement on the taxation of cross-border commuters and an amendment to their existing double taxation agreement.

The OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS has published the outcome of more reviews into territories' preferential tax regimes and on tax dispute resolution through the Mutual Agreement Procedure.

Hong Kong will grant taxpayers a waiver of up to HKD10,000 (USD1,290) of profits tax, salaries tax, and tax under personal assessment, the territory announced in its 2021-22 Budget.

Hong Kong's Legislative Council has passed a bill to implement a series of amendments to the Inland Revenue Ordinance.

Hong Kong's Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Christopher Hui Ching-yu, has set out how the territory intends to respond to the OECD's proposed new international tax framework.

The OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS has published the outcome of more reviews into territories' preferential tax regimes and on tax dispute resolution through the Mutual Agreement Procedure.

The Australian Taxation Office has issued a Taxpayer Alert on mischaracterized arrangements and schemes connected with direct foreign investment into Australian businesses.

The Australian Government has confirmed that it will amend its offshore banking unit regime after it was designated a harmful tax regime by the OECD and the European Union.

The Australian Taxation Office has expressed its concern that some taxpayers do not fully understand the tax implications of cryptocurrency gains.

The Swiss Government has opened the application process for a loan guarantee scheme aimed at helping start-ups facing liquidity problems during the coronavirus outbreak.

The Swiss Federal Department of Finance has announced the launch of a new online tool for individuals taxpayers, which is being developed also for legal entities.

The Swiss Federal Council intends to end the obligation to sign electronic tax returns and to introduce new e-filing requirements for certain documents.

The Swiss Finance Department has said that changes to tax law are not currently needed in response to developments in distributed ledger technology and blockchain.

The Swiss Federal Council has launched a consultation on the amendments to the VAT law, with a focus on the tax treatment of mail order businesses and the administrative burden on SMEs.

Switzerland has proposed introducing the value-added tax reverse charge mechanism for domestic transactions in emission allowances.

The Swiss Government is anticipating a shortfall in tax receipts of over CHF5bn in 2020.

Switzerland's Federal Department of Finance is extending the time limit within which tourists can export goods purchased in the country tax free.

Switzerland has signed protocols to its double taxation agreements with Cyprus, Liechtenstein, and Malta to implement minimum standards developed as part of the OECD's BEPS project.

On July 20, 2020, the French Government published in the Official Gazette a decree to expand the list of jurisdictions exempt from local filing reporting requirements under the country's country-by-country reporting regime.

Effective August 1, 2020, Switzerland relaxed the rules for tourists seeking to export goods free from tax.

Russia's double tax agreements with Hong Kong and Switzerland are next on the radar for authorities in Russia, who are seeking to ensure the country can subject to at least 15 percent withholding tax outbound dividends and interest payments.

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the text of an arbitration agreement between the US and Switzerland, in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2020-35, published August 24.

The Swiss Government has confirmed it will extend a tax exemption for surface disinfectants in light of COVID-19.

On August 26, 2020, the Swiss Federal Council ratified a new double taxation agreement with Bahrain and a Protocol to revise its DTA with Kuwait.

On September 11, 2020, the Swiss Federal Council launched a consultation on proposals for the total revision of the customs system.

The Cyprus Tax Department has released ten-year government bond yield rates for five new territories, to support businesses in calculating claims for Cyprus's Notional Interest Deduction. The rates are for Bermuda, Denmark, Jordan, Portugal, and Switzerland.

In an October 15, 2020, statement, the Swiss Government announced it will not pay interest on federal taxes paid early.

The Swiss Federal Council has approved proposed legislative changes to alter how the country interprets double tax agreement provisions.

Germany and Pakistan have deposited their instrument of ratification with the OECD to bring into force the BEPS multilateral instrument for their networks of tax treaties.

On December 23, 2020, Switzerland and Italy signed a new agreement on the taxation of cross-border commuters and an amendment to their existing double taxation agreement.

A group of experts assessing the Swiss tax regime has drawn up an action plan on improving Switzerland's international tax competitiveness.

As part of its commitment to fighting cross-border tax evasion and profit shifting, Switzerland sent information on over 3m financial accounts in 2021, according to a new review of the Swiss financial center by the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters.

At its meeting on May 18, 2022, the Swiss Federal Council approved the dispatch on the introduction of the automatic exchange of information on financial accounts (AEOI) with 12 other partner countries.

New mechanism for designing antiviral drugs for dengue virus has been identified. The study details are published in iProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences/i.

National Dengue Prevention Day is celebrated on May 16 every year in India. The day aims to spread awareness about this disease and preventive methods and tips to treat dengue.

Novel device developed can be clipped onto a smartphone to rapidly test for Zika virus in a single droplet of blood, reveal researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The number of reported dengue fever cases in Bangladesh this year has reached 187,725, with the death toll exceeding 900 individuals, according to data from the health department.

In Uttar Pradesh the DEN-2 variant of dengue is increasingly common among people who have tested positive for this mosquito-transmitted disease (!--ref1--).

Starting from October 1, the health department of Tamil Nadu will conduct 1,000 medical camps dedicated to screening for medlinkdengue/medlink, said Health Minister Ma Subramanian.