Liechtenstein and Switzerland have agreed a new cooperation pact in the area of value-added tax administration and enforcement.

According to French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, France and the United States will in the next two weeks attempt to reach a compromise over their ongoing dispute regarding France's new digital services tax.

The EU has announced the removal of eight jurisdictions from its tax blacklist.

Businesses registered for the United Arab Emirates's value-added tax need to complete a four-step online procedure to file their tax returns, the Federal Tax Authority has said.

Bahrain has committed to pushing towards the introduction of the Gulf Cooperation Council's value-added tax framework by the end of the year.

The UAE's Federal Tax Authority has announced that it will waive late registration penalties for businesses that have not yet registered for VAT, on the condition that they do so by April 30 of this year.

The EU has removed three countries from its list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions and added a further three.

The European Commission is to take steps to ensure that EU external development and investment funds cannot be channelled or transited through entities in countries included on the EU's "blacklist" of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions.

The United Arab Emirates' Federal Tax Authority has issued guidance on obtaining refunds of value-added tax on new homes.

The EU on May 25 removed the Bahamas and Saint Kitts and Nevis from its list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions.

The EU has removed two countries from its list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions and found a further five to have met their commitments on tax cooperation.

The OECD is seeking input from taxpayers on dispute resolution mechanisms in place in Aruba, Bahrain, Barbados, Gibraltar, Greenland, Kazakhstan, Oman, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam, as part of follow-up work under BEPS Action Plan Action 14.

The United Arab Emirates's amended excise tax regime entered into force on December 1, and now covers sweetened drinks and electronic smoking devices and liquids.

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.

Highlights: Healthy sleep patterns can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) These sleep pat

Highlights: Eating too much - not exercising too little - is at the root of obesity It is also responsible

Highlights: Risk of autism can now be predicted by analyzing the sperms of prospective fathers Mutations

Highlights: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has proposed changes to the drugs and cosmetics

Highlights: Excessive belly fat could increase the risk of recurrent heart attacks and strokes Occurs due to

Highlights: Bacteria living in household dust particles have been detected These are capable of transmitting

Highlights : A way to utilize existing chemotherapy in a more efficient manner in treating pancreat

Highlights: A low-cost test can identify patients at high risk of requiring dialysis or transplant

Highlights: Quitting smoking at any age significantly reduces the risk of lung cancer Healthy lung cell

Highlights: Infants conceived through IVF can have a higher risk of death than infants conceived naturally This

Highlights: World Encephalitis Day is celebrated annually on 22 nd February Its major objective is to raise awaren

Highlights: The American Heart Association has published a statement on exercise and heart health It re

Highlights : Coronavirus cases have crossed over 50,000 in India, despite being under strict lockdown Social distanc

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.

New Zealand's Inland Revenue Department has set out the range of supports available to businesses in response to the impact of COVID-19.

The OECD has launched a review of dispute resolution mechanisms in place in Aruba, Bahrain, Barbados, Gibraltar, Greenland, Kazakhstan, Oman, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam, as part of follow-up work under BEPS Action Plan Action 14.

On November 22, 2019, the United States Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations confirming that individuals taking advantage of the increased gift and estate tax exclusion amounts in effect from 2018 to 2025 will not be adversely impacted after 2025 when the exclusion amount is scheduled to drop to pre-2018 levels.

The Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis and Minister of Finance, Timothy Harris, delivered a "tax-free Budget" on December 12, 2019.

On January 8, 2020, a bill was introduced in the Senate of the US state of Maryland that would impose a tax on revenues associated with digital advertising derived in the state.

The EU has added the Cayman Islands, Palau, Panama, and the Seychelles to its list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, bringing the total tally to 12 from 8.

On March 9, 2020, United States President Donald Trump revealed that the Administration would begin discussions with Congress on potential tax measures to ease the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, including a payroll tax cut.

The European Commission has warned taxpayers in Europe of letters being sent by fraudsters bearing its name and demanding the payment of tax not due.

The Spanish tax authority has published its annual tax and customs control plan for 2018, which details the tax compliance and enforcement measures that it intends to undertake in the coming year.

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.

The OECD on March 12 released a third round of peer reviews of countries' efforts to implement the BEPS minimum standard on improving tax dispute resolution mechanisms.

The Spanish Socialist Party and the Podemos movement, which will form the next governing coalition, has released their policy document, which includes plans for a corporate minimum tax, among other tax measures.

The Spanish Government has published the draft bill to introduce a digital services tax in Spain, beginning the formal parliamentary process needed to introduce the measure.

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.

French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation has issued a statement on its tax arrangements in response to media coverage of the so-called "Paradise Papers."

The Isle of Man Treasury has announced that a new 30 percent penalty for participation in VAT fraud will be introduced from March 1, 2018.

Value-added tax avoidance will be considered by a new EU anti-tax avoidance committee, the creation of which is expected to be endorsed at an EU parliamentary plenary on March 1, 2018.

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.

The Australian Taxation Office has issued an e-brief on how companies can assess if they are required to submit a reportable tax position schedule.

The Australian Taxation Office has opened a consultation on a draft Law Companion Ruling on the targeted integrity rule that will apply under the new hybrid mismatch regime.

Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) has given a guarded welcome to the New Zealand Government's response to the recommendations of the Tax Working Group.