In an e-brief issued on December 12, 2017, the Irish tax agency announced that maximum withholding tax rates on cross-border passive income have been lowered under the Ireland-Chile double tax agreement.

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 ruling Liberal Democrat Party has approved a tax reform package that will cut corporate rates for companies who increase employee wages.

Japan's Ministry of Finance has reported the signing of a double tax agreement with Iceland in Reykjavik.

Ministers from 11 countries have announced their agreement upon the "core elements" of a new Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

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

Australia's free trade agreements are being widely used by Australian businesses, according to a new report commissioned by the Government.

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

The US Internal Revenue Services has released its annual report on the number of advance pricing agreements and applications and made during the 2017 calendar year.

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 EU and Japan have signed an Economic Partnership Agreement that will remove the majority of the EUR1bn (USD1.2bn) of duties paid annually by EU companies exporting to Japan.

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.

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

On January 8, 2020, Japan and Morocco signed a double taxation agreement.

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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.

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.

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.