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.

Hong Kong's Inland Revenue Department has noted that, starting from the year of assessment 2018/19, capital expenditure incurred for procuring environmental protection installations should be deducted in a single year, rather than over five years.

Hong Kong's Inland Revenue Department has released new guidance notes on the deduction of foreign taxes.

New Zealand is the easiest place in the world to do business, according to the World Bank's new Doing Business 2020 report, which looks at the simplicity of setting up, operating, and paying taxes in 190 territories around the world.

The OECD recently released the seventh round of stage one peer review reports, assessing eight jurisdictions' efforts to implement the BEPS Action 14 minimum standard on tax dispute resolution.

The Hong Kong Government has published in the Gazette legislation to provide profits tax concessions to certain ship lessors and ship leasing managers.

Hong Kong's 2020 Budget includes plans for a one-off reduction of profits tax, salaries tax, and tax under personal assessment.

Hong Kong has updated its guidance on advance rulings, to reflect changes to Hong Kong's practices as a result of its efforts to comply with the OECD's minimum standards proposed as part of the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) Action Plan.

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.

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 Swiss Government has welcomed Switzerland's removal from the EU's list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, and said that the country meets and implements international tax standards.

Costa Rica's Ministry of Finance has released a statement clarifying its decision to exclude a number of territories with low effective income tax rates from its list of non-cooperative territories.

On October 22, 2019, the Swiss Federal Finance Department uploaded a series of publications concerning the value-added tax rules for those participating in and organizing sporting events.

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.

The Swiss Government has published guidance on the legislation that brings into force the recommendations made by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

The Swiss Federal Tax Authority has released new English-language guidance for foreign businesses on their obligations under Swiss VAT law.

Switzerland has released a report on its efforts to resolve tax disputes, noting that the average time to complete mutual agreement procedure cases was 13 months in 2018, significantly below that required under the BEPS minimum standards.

Switzerland is due to introduce its new corporate tax regime from the beginning of 2020.

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 Swiss Government has announced that it will waive interest on late payments of tax, to allow companies to delay their tax payments.

The OECD Global Forum has released eight peer review reports, for Brunei, Macau, Switzerland, Barbados, the Seychelles, Liberia, Peru, and Tunisia, on the jurisdictions' efforts to adopt and comply with international tax standards on transparency and the exchange of tax-related information on request.

The United Arab Emirates' Federal Tax Authority has released a statement confirming that all purchases from online retailers are subject to the same value-added tax rules as for purchases from brick and mortar stores – that they should generally be subject to the headline five percent value-added tax rate.

The UAE's Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has changed the deadline for firms preparing to file a VAT return for the first time.

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

The UAE's Federal Tax Authority has newly launched a number of VAT compliance tools and further confirmed how the value-added tax regime, introduced at the start of the year, should operate.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 UAE has recently passed legislation to introduce new country-by-country reporting requirements and new economic substance requirements.

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' Federal Tax Authority has announced the launch of a new service on its website to simplify the process for taxpayers of recovering value-added tax incurred in building their own new homes.

Japan's proposed sales tax hike is expected to go ahead as planned in 2019 after a landslide win by incumbent Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The National Taxpayers Union has called upon the US Department of Commerce to halt its investigation into steel and aluminum imports, claiming that imposing tariffs would be "an economically inefficient solution to a narrow problem."

Japan's Cabinet recently approved tax reform bills, which have now been introduced into the country's parliament for debate.

The fifth round of tariff cuts under the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement have entered into force.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, has announced a task force will be set up to consider ways to mitigate the negative impact of the planned 2019 consumption tax rise.

The OECD has reported on the progress achieved to improve tax transparency internationally under the new Common Reporting Standard (CRS), ahead of the meeting of G20 finance ministers in Fukuoka, Japan.

South Korea's Government has announced that it will provide tax relief to small and medium size businesses that have been affected by Japan's decision to remove 159 South Korea products from its export "white list."

Japan's sales tax rose from eight to 10 percent on October 1, 2019, following two previous delays to the hike.

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