The UK's 2018 Budget includes changes to tax rules for companies, and notably for multinational groups to conform with the EU's Anti Tax Avoidance Directive. Most significantly, the UK has decided to move ahead of the EU in announcing that it will apply a tax on the turnover of certain digital businesses.

Malaysia's 2019 Budget contains plans for an overhaul of sales and service tax rules and a corporate tax cut for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

On December 11, 2018, the UK Government tabled The Value Added Tax (Input Tax) (Specified Supplies) (Amendment) Order 2018 before the House of Commons to close a VAT avoidance loophole that is exploited by some UK insurers.

The Seychelles says that the OECD has found the territory to have made sufficient reforms to comply with its BEPS Action 5 standard on harmful tax regimes.

The EU's Code of Conduct Group (Business Taxation) has written to authorities in Seychelles to warn that new provisions to the territory's tax regime are considered harmful.

The European Union Code of Conduct Group (Business Taxation) has warned the Government of Belize that the jurisdiction will be placed on the EU's blacklist of non-cooperative territories unless it commits to amend or abolish certain tax rules considered "harmful."

Three Democratic members of the United States Senate have introduced two tax bills designed to discourage US companies from shifting their operations overseas and establishing arrangements in low-tax jurisdictions.

New Zealand's Finance and Expenditure Committee has recommended changes to legislation that would introduce a new requirement for offshore suppliers to collect GST on low-value goods supplied to New Zealand-based consumers.

During a webcast on June 11, the OECD provided a technical update on its work to develop new, modernized international tax rules for the digitalized economy.

New Zealand's Inland Revenue has announced that those who buy and sell property will be required to provide their IRD number on land transfer documentation, to improve the agency's ability to enforce the tax rules on property speculation.

On July 19, 2019, the United States Internal Revenue Service Large Business and International Division announced six additional compliance campaigns.

On August 5, 2019, the US Department of Justice announced that Swiss bank LLB Verwaltung (Switzerland) AG has agreed to pay a penalty of USD10.6m to resolve a case in which it was accused of helping US clients to conceal income.

Two deadlines are approaching in Colombia for taxpayers wishing to take part in ongoing tax amnesties.

The OECD on September 2, 2019, announced that Ecuador and Serbia have ratified the multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

New Zealand's tax agency has urged overseas businesses who sell goods valued at NZD1,000 (USD629) or less to register for GST ahead of the December 1, 2019, deadline.

New Zealand is to introduce GST on low-value goods sold by overseas retailers from December 1, 2019.

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British Columbia is to offer a provincial sales tax exemption to a proposed new liquefied natural gas project.

The Australian Government has secured an exemption from new US metal tariffs, Trade Minister Steven Ciobo has said.

The Bank of Canada has published the findings of its latest business outlook survey, which shows some concern among firms over the impact of US trade and tax policies.

Canada's auditors general have published a collaborative report on the country's response to climate change, which raises concerns about the success of the action taken by governments.

The Canadian Parliament's international trade committee has recommended that the federal Government tax products supplied to Canadian consumers by online platforms.

Canada and Israel have signed a modernized free trade agreement.

The IMF has said that the recent changes to the US tax system could make Canada a less attractive destination for investment.

G7 countries are committed to working towards a consensus-based solution to the tax challenges of the digital economy, according to the final communique issued at the conclusion of the G7's summit in Charlevoix, Canada.

The Canadian Revenue Agency has unveiled a three-point action plan to improve the services offered by its call centers.

Ontario's new government has scrapped the province's cap-and-trade carbon pricing regime, effective July 3.

The Canada Revenue Agency is to collaborate with an association of tax preparation and software firms to improve the digital services it provides to taxpayers.

Canada's federal Government has announced that it will impose a carbon price in Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan in 2019.

Last year, the tax burden in OECD countries reached its highest level recorded, at 34.2 percent of gross domestic product, up 20 basis points on 2016, largely due to increasing taxes on personal consumption and companies.

Canada's small business tax rate will be reduced from 10 percent to nine percent from January 1, 2019, as part of a suite of new year tax changes.

On February 19, the Canada Revenue Agency officially opened the 2019 tax filing season.

Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau has made tax non-compliance in the real-estate market a major focus of his 2019 Budget.

On June 21, 2019, Canada ratified the BEPS multilateral convention, to introduce amendments to its network of tax treaties to prevent abuse.

The Canadian Government is consulting on draft legislative proposals to implement a number of tax measures announced in the 2019 Budget.

Mexico has completed its domestic ratification procedures in respect of the new US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, with the US and Canada.

The Canadian Liberal Party has announced plans to reduce the income tax burden by raising the Basic Personal Amount.

Three-quarters of Europeans want the European Union to do more to tackle tax evasion, according to a new survey by Eurobarometer.

The European Commission has released a paper recommending improvements to France's "inefficient" value-added tax system, including that the country do away with broadly applying reduced VAT rates.

The Indian Cabinet on August 24 approved the signature of a double tax agreement protocol with Cyprus that would tackle "round tripping" and base erosion and profit shifting.

UK tax authority HM Revenue and Customs has said that it is aware of a new tax avoidance scheme that attempts to exploit Entrepreneurs' Relief by turning what would be income into a capital gain.

The European Parliament has begun its inquiry into the Panama Papers with a hearing with the investigative journalists behind the leak.

On October 12, the Italian financial police said it had broke up a value-added tax fraud ring allegedly involved in transactions totaling EUR930m, through 180 companies in 15 European Union (EU) countries.

The European Union statistics agency, Eurostat, has released new figures concerning member states' tax revenue collections and their tax mixes for 2015.

The revised double tax avoidance agreement between India and Cyprus will take effect from April 1, 2017, India's Central Board of Direct Taxes has announced.

The total loss to EU member states from the schemes revealed in the Panama Papers could be in the region of between EUR109bn (USD119bn) to EUR237bn, according to a new study commissioned by the European Parliament's PANA committee.

Twenty EU member states have reached a deal on the establishment of a new European Public Prosecutor's Office that will have the power to investigate and prosecute criminal cases affecting the EU budget.

Cyprus's Tax Department has released details of a tax amnesty, which entered into force on July 3, 2017.

Cyprus should consider reinstating the immovably property tax to boost revenues, the International Monetary Fund has said.

The Cypriot tax authority has extended until January 15, 2018, the deadline for multinational corporations to submit their notifications concerning country-by-country reporting for 2017. The deadline had been December 31.