On November 18, 2019, the Government of the Czech Republic announced that it has agreed on a draft law to introduce a tax on digital services, which will now be submitted to parliament.

In a new report for G20 ministers, the OECD has provided an update on its work to tackle tax base erosion and profit shifting relating to multinational businesses.

Malta's tonnage tax scheme has been conditionally approved for a period of 10 years by the European Commission under EU state aid rules.

The number of advance pricing agreements between EU member states and companies rose by 64 percent from 2015 to 2016, according to research by Eurodad.

On January 10, 2018, the Belgian Ministry of Finance reminded taxpayers letting and leasing certain real estate that they can opt in to the value-added tax regime.

On February 14, 2019, the General Court of the European Union annulled the European Commission's decision that the Belgian tax regime relating to the excess profit of multinational companies is contrary to EU law.

Belgium's Council of Ministers has approved a draft law that would temporarily treat the United Kingdom as a member of the European Union for Belgian tax purposes should the UK leave the EU having failed to agree any withdrawal arrangements.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz has presented a final proposal for a European Union financial transactions tax to the 10 member states participating in the initiative.

Belgium should look to broaden its tax base to fund labor tax reductions, the International Monetary Fund has said in its annual report for the country.

Hong Kong published two bills in its Official Gazette on December 29 to introduce provisions to counter base erosion and profit shifting and to alter its business tax regime.

In a new report, the OECD has drawn attention to criminal activity in free trade zones, which typically offer tax privileges and lighter regulation, highlighting that they may be unintentionally fostering growth in counterfeit goods.

Hong Kong has gazetted an ordinance to establish a new two-tier corporate tax regime from April 1, 2018.

Hong Kong's Government says it is studying the feasibility of introducing a tax on vacant "first-hand" private residential properties.

On June 14, 2018, Hong Kong's Inland Revenue Department released guidance on the tax obligations of landlords.

Hong Kong's Legislative Council has passed legislation to improve the jurisdiction's tax incentives for research and development spending.

Releasing a progress update, the OECD said international efforts to curb harmful tax practices and prevent the misuse of preferential tax regimes are having a tangible impact worldwide.

Switzerland's country-by-country reporting regime meets international standards and the country effectively exchanges the reports it receives with other countries, an OECD peer review has concluded.

The Swiss Government on September 20, 2019, announced that it has exchanged instruments of ratification with the United States to bring into force a Protocol to their double tax agreement.

The Swiss Federal Council will bring into force legislation on the implementation of recommendations made by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

On October 23, the Swiss Federal Council adopted a dispatch on a protocol to the double tax agreement with Iran, which implements the minimum standards for such agreements.

Switzerland is to amend its domestic framework for the automatic exchange of information, in line with recommendations made by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

The Swiss Government has said that from January 31, individuals and legal entitles domiciled in Germany will be able to use an online Swiss application to request a refund of Swiss withholding tax.

The OECD's Global Forum has found Switzerland largely compliant with the international standards on transparency and the exchange of information upon request.

The UAE's Federal Tax Authority has issued guidance on whether a supplier or consumer is liable for VAT on goods or services for contracts negotiated before VAT was introduced.

In a new report, the OECD has drawn attention to criminal activity in free trade zones, which typically offer tax privileges and lighter regulation, highlighting that they may be unintentionally fostering growth in counterfeit goods.

The first quarterly value-added tax filing deadline of April 29 is fast approaching in the United Arab Emirates, with more than 90,000 taxpayers said to be affected.

The UAE's Cabinet has announced that wholesale trading in gold and diamonds will be made exempt from value-added tax.

In introducing its new 2017 International Tax Competitiveness Index, the Tax Foundation, a US tax policy think tank, notes the importance of simple but effective tax regimes and highlights New Zealand as the country that has implemented particularly positive reforms.

The US Internal Revenue Services has released its annual report on the number of advance pricing agreements and applications and made during the 2017 calendar year.

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HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has automatically registered 95,000 businesses for its simplified import procedures, allowing most UK traders up to six months to pay import duties and submit customs declarations, if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on October 31, 2019.

Airbnb has disclosed that it has been contacted by HM Revenue and Customs regarding the application of tax laws or regulations impacting the company's business, adding that some matters "may result in litigation".

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that his party intends to cancel a planned cut to the corporate tax rate, which was scheduled for April 2020.

The main UK opposition party Labour has set out its plans for tax reform, in a manifesto released on November 21.

The OECD has recently launched a new program – the International Compliance Assurance Programme – being spearhead by the Forum on Tax Administration that is aimed at providing assurance to multinationals with regards to their transfer pricing affairs.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has pledged to reform Spain's corporate tax rules so that companies pay an effective rate no lower than 15 percent.

The Spanish Government will proceed with a proposal to introduce a digital services tax along similar lines to the European Commission's proposed interim digital tax.

For the first time, the Commission has presented a comprehensive report on investor citizenship and residence schemes operated by a number of EU member states.

In a letter published on April 29, 2019, the United States National Foreign Trade Council urged the Senate to approve several pending double tax avoidance treaties.

On June 25, 2019, the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved amendments to four double tax avoidance agreements which have been pending in the Senate for several years.

The United States Senate could soon approve ratification of four long-pending double tax avoidance treaty protocols.

The United States Senate has approved protocols to four existing bilateral double tax avoidance treaties that have been pending in the chamber for as much as a decade.

Spain's acting Economy Minister, Nadia Calvino, said the Government will seek approval of legislation to introduce a digital services tax at the earliest opportunity.

The implementation of a new system by the Isle of Man Ship Registry for processing online applications for Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers endorsements has been hailed a great success by its clients.

The Canada Revenue Authority is auditing over 750 taxpayers with suspected links to offshore "tax havens" and investigating 20 cases of tax evasion, the Government has said.

The Australian Government is to simplify taxpayers' compliance with rules designed to prevent shareholders from using private company profits without paying tax at their marginal rates.