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.

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

Democrats in the United States Senate have introduced a bill that would block proposals to introduce a "high-tax exemption" to the Global Intangible Low-Tax Income regime.

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.

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.

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.

An agreement has been reached between the European Union and the United Kingdom on Brexit, which, if approved by UK lawmakers, would establish a transition period, until the end of 2020, during which EU law would continue to apply to the UK.

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.

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.

The Isle of Man Government has committed to enhancing the effectiveness of arrangements to share "beneficial ownership" information with the United Kingdom.

More than 20 jurisdictions have signed up to a pilot project to exchange data held on beneficial ownership registers and registers of trusts, according to UK Chancellor George Osborne.

The Isle of Man's 2018 Budget maintains the zero percent company tax rate, and announces a banking tax review, which will look at taxing all banking profits at the 10 percent rate from next year.

Australia is to require businesses seeking to tender for significant federal government procurement contracts to demonstrate their record of tax compliance.

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 Government is to implement a new government procurement process that will require the tenderer's tax record to be taken into account.

Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced that the Government will bring forward the start date for its package of income tax cuts.

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.

The Australian Taxation Office has released a new ruling on how to calculate the effective life of depreciating assets for income tax purposes, in Taxation Ruling (TR) 2019/5, which is applicable from July 1, 2019.

Legislation before Australia's parliament would make company directors liable for a failed company's GST liabilities in certain circumstances.

The Australian Taxation Office has welcomed a significant ruling from Australia's High Court, which enables the tax agency to use information obtained from data leaks, even if leaked from a law firm.

The pace of tax reform has slowed across most leading economies, a new report from the OECD says, calling for bolder tax reforms to address future challenges.

The Australian Taxation Office has announced changes to its CbC reporting system following feedback from multinational groups.

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.

On February 19, 2020, the United States Internal Revenue Service announced that the leaders of the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement recently gathered in Sydney, Australia, to review their work and to set priorities for the years ahead.

The Irish Government has released additional guidance on its proposals for new anti-hybrid rules, responding to feedback to a consultation launched in November 2018.

As a small open economy, Ireland may be affected significantly by the OECD's proposals to modify how taxing rights are allocated among countries, Irish business association Ibec has said.

The Irish Revenue has published guidance on the tax compliance obligations that arise from mergers and divisions.

HM Revenue and Customs has written to VAT-registered businesses that trade with the EU, advising them on how to prepare for changes to customs, excise, and VAT in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Tax agencies from 31 countries discussed the ways they are using data analysis tools to improve tax enforcement and administration, at the first meeting of the IOTA Forum on Tax Debt Management, held in Prague, Czech Republic, On October 1-3, 2019.

The Irish Government has published its 2019 Finance Bill, which introduces changes to a number of SME-targeted tax incentives and implements a range of measures announced in this month's Budget.

EU member states have been unable to reach an agreement on proposals to release to the public information on multinational enterprises' tax affairs.

A general election will take place in Ireland on February 8, with Prime Minister Leo Varadkar saying that this date provides a window to ensure a new government is in place ahead of the next European Council meeting in March.

Namibia's Minister of Finance, Calle Schlettwein, has tabled a legislative amendment in parliament that will repeal certain tax incentives attached to Export Processing Zones as well as those aimed at the manufacturing sector.

Officials from the Abu Dhabi Global Market, a free zone in the United Arab Emirates, and the Abu Dhabi Exchange recently visited Shanghai, China, to meet with representatives of key Chinese financial authorities and institutions.

Jersey has signed a double taxation agreement with the Republic of Cyprus. This is the island's twelfth agreement that meets the international standard for such agreements.

Pakistan's Finance Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, has directed the Federal Board of Revenue to approach the tax authorities of nine territories about information in the Panama and Bahamas leaks.

Abu Dhabi Global Market, the low-tax international financial center, is seeking feedback on its proposal to allow the formation of "foundations," a trust-like entity widely used in civil law jurisdictions.

Researchers at the University of Amsterdam have looked at how corporations make use of particular countries and jurisdictions to minimize their tax liabilities.

HM Revenue and Customs, the UK tax authority, has welcomed a ruling in its favor against a contrived tax avoidance scheme involving an entity in Jersey and the Cayman Islands.

Apple, the world's largest taxpayer, has released a statement seeking to debunk claims in media about its tax payments around the world, following coverage in recent days about it seeking tax mitigation arrangements in Jersey due to international tax changes in Ireland affecting its existing tax arrangements.

200 delegates from more than 90 delegations met in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on November 15-17, 2017, for the 10th meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes which now includes 147 countries and jurisdictions.

South Africa, Jersey, and Belgium are among a handful of territories that have recently announced an extension to the due date for country-by-country reports under the new frameworks being introduced under Action 13 of the OECD's base erosion and profit shifting Action Plan.

Jersey has become one of only three jurisdictions to ratify the BEPS multilateral instrument to revise tax treaties to counter base erosion and profit shifting.

A further six countries have signed the BEPS multilateral instrument, enabling them to swiftly amend their double tax treaties to incorporate the recommendations put forward by the OECD as part of its base erosion and profit shifting Action Plan.

The OECD has announced that its multilateral convention to implement tax treaty-related measures to counter base erosion and profit shifting will enter into force on July 1, 2018.