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The OECD on August 13, 2019, released follow-up reports for Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States on their efforts to implement BEPS recommendations on dispute resolution.

The UK tax agency has announced that it has scheduled two new webinars to support the construction industry to come to terms with the new VAT reverse charge being introduced on building and construction services from October 1.

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".

On November 5, 2019, the UK Government released the synthesized text of the Luxembourg-UK double tax agreement, as modified by the BEPS multilateral instrument.

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

The Conservative Party in the UK has won an outright majority in elections held on December 12, 2019.

The UK Government on January 10, 2020, released the synthesized text of the 1987 Belgium-UK double tax agreement, as modified by the BEPS multilateral instrument.

The Federal Association of German Industry, the BDI, has urged the German government to forge ahead with corporate tax reforms, warning that Germany's corporate tax regime is becoming increasingly out of step with the country's competitors.

The UK's 2020 Budget, released on March 11, 2020, includes proposals to waive business rates on small retailers, to introduce a new tax on plastics, and to remove value-added tax on electronic publications.

On March 13, 2020, the German Ministry of Finance announced the relaxation of certain tax payment requirements as part of a package of measures designed to ease the economic impact of the COVID-19 virus.

The Dutch Government will allow taxpayers to defer payments of certain taxes under a new package of coronavirus economic relief measures.

The German Ministry of Finance has adopted a circular including various tax relief measures for businesses affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

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

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, the Maltese Government has announced deferrals for the payment of a number of taxes.

The Argentine Government has announced a number of tax-related measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 2, 2020, the Dutch Ministry of Finance announced that the rules for requesting tax payment deferrals have been simplified and extended to cover additional taxes.

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

On April 3, 2020, the Belgian tax authority announced an increase in the credit available for timely advance tax payments to provide businesses and the self-employed a liquidity boost amid the COVID-19 crisis.

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 9, 2019, the United States Internal Revenue Service announced the launch of a new Gig Economy Tax Center, which is intended to help taxpayers meet their tax obligations through more streamlined information.

On January 16, 2020, the US Senate voted to approve the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which will replace the existing North American Free Trade Agreement.

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.

On March 25, 2020, the United States Senate overwhelmingly approved the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which represents the third package of financial aid measures to businesses and individuals affected by the coronavirus crisis and which includes numerous tax provisions to support businesses.

On March 27, 2020, the United States Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued a notice which extends COVID-19-related filing and payment relief to federal gift and generation-skipping taxes.

On March 31, 2020, the United States Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service launched the Employee Retention Credit scheme, designed to encourage businesses to keep employees on their payroll amid the COVID-19 crisis.

EU customs controls are not being applied effectively, an EU audit has found, with importers able to take advantage of loopholes to reduce or evade their duty liabilities.

In a recent update, the Internal Revenue Service has announced that it has agreed a bilateral competent authority agreement with authorities in Spain to exchange country-by-country reports.

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.

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.