The European Union value-added tax gap – the overall difference between expected VAT revenue and actual EU member state collections – was EUR152bn in 2015, says the European Commission, highlighting the need for further reforms to tackle avoidance, error, and evasion.

Malta has enacted rules removing the bias in favor of debt financing by creating a notional interest deduction for equity financing.

Malta's Minister for Finance, Edward Scicluna, told delegates to a recent law conference at the Old University in Valletta that beneficial ownership regulations will be published in the coming weeks.

Appleby, the offshore law firm, has spoken out against recent media coverage, which implies but does not allege that there is wrongdoing in the papers recently exposed that include information on its clients' tax affairs.

A new report has been issued following an audit into how taxes in Malta are administered.

Malta's tonnage tax scheme has been conditionally approved for a period of 10 years by the European Commission under EU state aid rules.

Greens/EFA members of the European Parliament have called on the EU Code of Conduct Group to be more transparent about the criteria it used to create the EU's new blacklist of non-cooperative territories and how it will manage it going forward.

The Bermuda Government on January 31, 2018, updated the lists of the countries with which it will exchange country-by-country reports filed in Bermuda in 2018 and in 2019.

The OECD has recently launched a consultation on tackling the circumvention of its latest international tax transparency standard, the Common Reporting Standard, through the use by individuals of residency by investment (RBI), or citizenship by investment (CBI) schemes.

The European Commission has sent letters of formal notice to Cyprus, Greece, and Malta for not levying the correct amount of value-added tax on yachts.

The number of advance pricing agreements between EU member states and companies rose by 64 percent from 2015 to 2016, according to research by Eurodad.

Malta has reiterated its commitment to fighting aggressive tax planning, joining other EU member states who have unanimously agreed to amend the EU's tax information sharing law, the Directive on Administrative Cooperation.

Malta's Commissioner for Revenue recently announced electronic filing deadline extensions for corporate income tax returns.

The Office of Malta's Commissioner for Revenue has updated guidelines in relation to the Notional Interest Deduction rules.

Malta's Commissioner for Revenue on January 2, 2020, issued a single set of guidelines on the automatic exchange of financial account information.

The IMF has said that Malta should look for ways to diversify its tax base and strengthen tax revenues.

On February 20, 2020, Malta's Commissioner for Revenue said tax payments by bank draft or check issued by foreign banks will no longer be accepted.

Estonia has topped the Tax Foundation's International Tax Competitiveness Index for the fifth successive year, being deemed to have the "best tax code in the OECD."

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.

The Belgian tax agency has issued a reminder to value-added tax-registered persons of their obligations to file VAT returns and pay VAT during the holiday season.

On January 10, 2018, the Belgian Ministry of Finance reminded taxpayers letting and leasing certain real estate that they can opt in to the value-added tax regime.

On February 14, 2019, the General Court of the European Union annulled the European Commission's decision that the Belgian tax regime relating to the excess profit of multinational companies is contrary to EU law.

Belgium's Council of Ministers has approved a draft law that would temporarily treat the United Kingdom as a member of the European Union for Belgian tax purposes should the UK leave the EU having failed to agree any withdrawal arrangements.

On May 2, 2019, Belgium's finance ministry confirmed that the Tax-on-web portal has been opened for personal and corporate income tax returns for the 2019 fiscal year.

Belgium's tax authority has announced corporate tax return filing deadlines for the 2019 tax year, with a concession for those with a deadline prior to September 26, 2019.

Belgium's tax agency has announced that its MyMinfin portal is now open for multinational taxpayers seeking to correct errors in filed country-by-country reports.

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.

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 overall tax burden in the European Union relative to GDP rose slightly in 2018, to 40.3 percent, the Eurostat has announced.

Nine EU member states have called on the European Commission to draw up proposals for an EU-wide aviation tax.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz has presented a final proposal for a European Union financial transactions tax to the 10 member states participating in the initiative.

On December 9, 2019, the Belgian Federal Public Finance Service reminded vendors that since December 1, 2019, they are required to round off cash payments to the nearest five cents.

On December 18, 2019, the Belgian Federal Public Finance Service announced that start-up companies can request accelerated refunds of value-added tax credits from January 1, 2020.

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.

On January 20, 2020, the Dutch Ministry of Finance announced the list of countries with which the Netherlands intends to negotiate new or amended double tax treaties in 2020.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz has said he is confident that an agreement can be reached on a European Union financial transactions tax.

On January 24, 2020, the European Commission issued formal notices to numerous European Union member states with regards to lapses in the implementation of various EU anti-tax avoidance directives.

The European Commission has launched infringement proceedings against 14 member states for failing to implement the so-called value-added tax quick fixes.

Belgium should continue to pursue structural reforms to its tax, labor, and pension systems, a new report from the OECD recommends.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has said that Austria does not agree with new German proposals for a European financial transactions tax.

On February 19, 2020, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz issued a statement to say that he remains "committed" to the introduction of a financial transactions tax at European Union level along the same lines as that proposed by the German Government last month, despite opposition from within the EU, notably from Austria.

Belgium should look to broaden its tax base to fund labor tax reductions, the International Monetary Fund has said in its annual report for the country.

On March 18, 2020, the Belgian tax authorities announced the postponement of various value-added tax filing and payment deadlines to support companies during the coronavirus crisis.

On March 24, 2020, the Belgian tax authority announced value-added tax will not be levied on medical equipment donated to hospitals and healthcare facilities.

On March 29, 2020, the Belgian tax authority announced that value-added tax refunds will be accelerated for all declarations relating to the month of February 2020.

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.

On April 29, 2020, the Belgian tax authority announced changes to the deadline for the submission of annual corporate tax declarations due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Invest Hong Kong, Hong Kong's inward investment agency, has encouraged Mainland Chinese companies to make use of new tax incentives in Hong Kong.

China intends to implement numerous changes to its trade tariffs from January 1, 2018, to ensure domestic businesses have access to inputs and equipment and to implement changes in prior international agreements.

Hong Kong published two bills in its Official Gazette on December 29 to introduce provisions to counter base erosion and profit shifting and to alter its business tax regime.