Cyprus's tax agency has released a number of statements regarding further value-added tax payment concessions for companies financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Russia and Cyprus have announced that they have resolved a dispute concerning the two countries' double tax agreement.

Russia's Government has approved wording for a draft Protocol that it will seek to conclude with Malta, to revise their double tax agreement to increase withholding tax rates at source for cross-border dividends and interest income.

The Russian Government has announced the signing of a double tax Protocol with Malta, to increase the amount of tax that Russia may collect at source on cross-border payments of dividends and interest to 15 percent.

Malta has published The Value Added Tax Act (Amendment of Sixth Schedule) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations, 2020, which makes changes to the thresholds for VAT registration as a small undertaking.

Malta's Commissioner for Revenue has released year of assessment 2021 electronic income tax returns for companies.

The Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department has announced a further reduction to the interest rate payable on Tax Reserve Certificates.

The Singaporean Government has announced it will amend provisions on transfer pricing adjustments in the draft Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2021, which includes measures announced in the 2021 Budget, following a consultation.

The French Government has presented to the Council of Ministers a third amendment to the Finance Bill for 2020, which provides additional support for businesses affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

France's General Directorate of Public Finance has launched a scheme that allows small companies to request a specific settlement plan for the payment of their taxes.

The French Government is extending its COVID-19 financial support package for the tourism sector to various additional business types.

The French tax authority has announced that it will modify and extend a scheme that allows employers to pay workers tax-free bonuses.

In two recent speeches, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has outlined plans to extend COVID-19 supports for French businesses.

The Isle of Man has issued a reminder of the deadlines for 2019 corporate tax returns and for certain personal tax payments.

Lawmakers in Cyprus have rejected the 2021 Budget, for the first time in the country's history.

Singapore announced the extension of a number of support measures for businesses in its 2021 Budget, released on February 16, 2021.

On May 21, 2020, the Italian Revenue Agency issued a summary of additional tax measures in Decree 34/2020, which are intended to further support taxpayers affected by the COVID-19 virus.

Austria and Italy have signed an agreement clarifying the tax rules for frontier workers who are working at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On July 24, 2020, a Council Implementing Decision was published in the official journal of the European Union authorizing the extension of Italy's value-added tax split payment mechanism scheme, applicable to contracts with public sector entities.

The Italian Government will allow tax payments that were deferred during the COVID-19 lockdown to be paid in instalments over a two-year period.

The Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department has announced a further reduction to the interest rate payable on Tax Reserve Certificates.

The Hong Kong Government has issued a statement committing to amend its tax law with regards the tax exemption for foreign source passive income from 2023, to ensure the territory does not end up placed on the EU's tax blacklist of non-cooperative territories.

Authorities in Hong Kong have launched a review into two tax-deductible retirement savings products: Qualifying Deferred Annuity Policies (QDAP) and Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Tax-Deductible Voluntary Contributions (TVC).

The Australian Taxation Office has issued a Taxpayer Alert on mischaracterized arrangements and schemes connected with direct foreign investment into Australian businesses.

The Australian Government has confirmed that it will amend its offshore banking unit regime after it was designated a harmful tax regime by the OECD and the European Union.

The Swiss Government has opened the application process for a loan guarantee scheme aimed at helping start-ups facing liquidity problems during the coronavirus outbreak.

The Swiss Federal Council intends to end the obligation to sign electronic tax returns and to introduce new e-filing requirements for certain documents.

Switzerland has proposed introducing the value-added tax reverse charge mechanism for domestic transactions in emission allowances.

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the text of an arbitration agreement between the US and Switzerland, in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2020-35, published August 24.

Russia's Government has approved wording for a draft Protocol that it will seek to conclude with Malta, to revise their double tax agreement to increase withholding tax rates at source for cross-border dividends and interest income.

In an October 15, 2020, statement, the Swiss Government announced it will not pay interest on federal taxes paid early.

The Swiss Federal Council has approved proposed legislative changes to alter how the country interprets double tax agreement provisions.

On November 17, 2020, Luxembourg's tax authority published Circular LG – Conv. DI no. 66, outlining the changes made by the BEPS multilateral instrument (BEPS MLI) to the double tax agreement in place with Switzerland.

A group of experts assessing the Swiss tax regime has drawn up an action plan on improving Switzerland's international tax competitiveness.

New mechanism for designing antiviral drugs for dengue virus has been identified. The study details are published in iProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences/i.

Mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, malaria and chikungunya are on the rise. The months of September, October and November often see an increase in

medlinkDengue/medlink, a recurring tropical disease that experiences outbreaks during the monsoon season, becomes more aggressive and severe in animal

Starting from October 1, the health department of Tamil Nadu will conduct 1,000 medical camps dedicated to screening for medlinkdengue/medlink, said Health Minister Ma Subramanian.

The Tamil Nadu Health Department has launched urgent measures to curb the surge in medlinkdengue/medlink cases in the state (!--ref1--). The

The number of dengue cases in Patna has been rising over the past few days, with 15 to 20 people admitted to hospitals daily. On Thursday, the city commemorated

On March 10, the OECD released a new VAT Digital Toolkit for Asia-Pacific (APAC) nations. The toolkit is intended to support local tax authorities to better collect value-added tax on e-commerce activities.

On May 4, 2020, a bill was introduced in the United States House of Representatives to limit the impact of the Global Intangible Low Tax Income regime on businesses based in US territories and possessions.

On May 15, 2020, the United States House of Representatives approved the HEROES Act, which amends previous COVID-19-related stimulus legislation by changing loss carryback rules and providing further tax support for businesses and individuals.

On July 13, 2020, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a progress report on the last two years' work of the J5 group of five advanced countries, who are working collaboratively to tackle cross-border tax fraud.

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the text of an arbitration agreement between the US and Switzerland, in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2020-35, published August 24.

The US Internal Revenue Service has issued a reminder to taxpayers who pay estimated taxes that they have until June 15 to pay their estimated tax payment for the second quarter of tax year 2021 without incurring a penalty.

The European Commission has launched an in-depth investigation into a Belgian "tax shelter scheme" which supports video game production.

On May 13, 2020, the Belgian tax authority announced that the competent authorities of Belgium and Germany have concluded an agreement which clarifies the tax situation of cross-border workers in the context of the COVID-19 health crisis.

The European Commission is undertaking infringement proceedings against Belgium regarding the taxation of shares held by life insurance companies, the taxation of income from savings deposits, and the deductibility of alimony payments.

The EU will postpone the entry into force of its VAT e-commerce package and will defer certain filing deadlines under the Directive on Administrative Cooperation due to the coronavirus pandemic.