The European Free Trade Association, which comprises Liechtenstein, Iceland, Switzerland, and Norway, intends to take forward free trade negotiations with India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Ecuador this year.

The Malaysian Government in its Budget 2018 announced numerous tax changes, including an income tax cut, incentives for women to return to work, and tax relief for property investors and venture capital firms.

Besides lending against securities held by MFs, banks have been allowed by the RBI to do outright purchase of more than 25 per cent of Hold Till Maturity (HTM) securities in mutual funds portfolios in the absence of liquidity in the secondary market

A number of incentives have been included in the Finnish Government's 2019 Budget to encourage investment in the shares of both small and listed companies.

On September 10, 2019, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz presented to the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, the Government's draft Budget for 2020, which includes tax reduction measures.

On September 17, 2019, the Finnish Ministry of Finance announced that the Government has reached an agreement on the contents of the 2020 Budget, which includes some tax reductions for both companies and individuals.

On September 24, 2019, the Polish Government adopted the draft Budget for 2020, which takes into account recent reductions in personal income tax.

On October 7, 2019, the Greek Ministry of Finance presented to parliament the 2020 Budget, which includes numerous tax cut measures announced recently by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

On January 15, 2020, three tax bills were made law to give effect to measures announced in South Africa's 2019 Budget.

Higher tax receipts helped Switzerland to another surplus in 2019, with withholding tax and direct federal tax performing particularly well.

Private laboratories and hospitals were overcharging patients for dengue tests, reported recent media reports. Following these reports the Union Health

Delhi has reported 220 new cases of dengue in the last one week while the total number of new chikungunya cases for the same period stands at 628. A

Tens and thousands of people in India are being affected by mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, malaria and chikungunya. However, dengue and malaria

Indonesia has one of the highest burdens of dengue fever, in the world. Dengue fever has infected over half of all children in urban areas by the age of 5.

Kerala is in the grip of fever deaths including dengue. People in Kerala are in a panic mode, with fever claiming nearby villages since the onset of monsoon.

Nearly 550 dengue cases have been reported in Himachal Pradesh, India and especially in Bilaspur, which is Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda's hometown.

According to a municipal report released on Monday, around 285 cases of dengue were reported in the National capital in the end of the week on November 3, compared to 290 cases in the previous week.

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.

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

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 European Commission has released the 2017 edition of its survey of Tax Policies in the European Union, looking at the reforms undertaken by EU member states during the year.

Cyprus's Department of Taxation said recently that it will accept only electronic payment for the main tax heads from June 1, 2018.

The Chinese tax administration has reported that businesses have saved CNY2 trillion (USD317.8bn) following the replacement of business tax with value-added tax, beginning in 2012.

Governments raised about USD33bn in carbon pricing revenue last year, a 50 percent increase from 2016, according to a new update by the World Bank.

On October 23, 2018, the European Commission issued a request to the Italian Government that it revise its draft budgetary plan for 2019 because it breaches European Union fiscal rules.

On January 31, 2020, the Italian Revenue Agency released instructions on how companies, individuals, corporate groups, and partnerships can comply with their tax return filing obligations during 2020.

Algeria has released its draft Budget Law for 2020, including proposals for a number of tax reliefs.

The Korean Government has announced that the 2019 Tax Revision Bill was enacted on January 6, 2020, with a number of new measures added to the existing proposals.

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.

The European Commission has published its annual taxation trends report.

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

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.

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's Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, James Lau, has welcomed the recent passage of the 2018/19 Budget Bill through the special administrative region's parliament.

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.

Hong Kong's 2020 Budget includes plans for a one-off reduction of profits tax, salaries tax, and tax under personal assessment.

Switzerland's Federal Tax Administration has announced the exchange of information on millions of financial accounts with 75 partner countries.

Switzerland has released a report on its efforts to resolve tax disputes, noting that the average time to complete mutual agreement procedure cases was 13 months in 2018, significantly below that required under the BEPS minimum standards.

Higher tax receipts helped Switzerland to another surplus in 2019, with withholding tax and direct federal tax performing particularly well.

Following its passage through Japan's parliament, the Diet, measures in Japan's 2018 tax reform package became law on April 1, 2018.

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.

The UK's 2020 Budget, released on March 11, 2020, includes proposals to waive business rates on small retailers, to introduce a new tax on plastics, and to remove value-added tax on electronic publications.

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.

A new tax treaty between Finland and Spain, which will broaden the Finnish Government's taxing rights with respect to pension income, will be effective from 2019, according to the Finnish Ministry of Finance.

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

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.

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.