US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told a congressional hearing on June 17, 2020, that the US Government has withdrawn from international negotiations on new global tax rules for digital companies at the OECD.

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

The OECD has released its Taxing Wages 2020 report, which highlights that taxes on labor across the OECD countries fell for the sixth consecutive year in 2019.

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.

On May 15, 2020, the Belgian tax authority announced that taxpayers who timely filed their value-added tax declarations but were then informed that they submitted late or made an error in their submission to ignore such notifications due to technical issues with the VAT filing system.

On May 15, 2020, the competent authorities of Belgium and France concluded an agreement which clarifies the tax situation of cross-border workers in the context of the COVID-19 health crisis.

On June 24, 2020, the Belgian Ministry of Finance issued a clarification of tax payment deadlines for non-resident individuals after the tax authority issued tax statements with the wrong due dates.

Belgium has extended agreements with France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands clarifying the tax rules for frontier workers working from home due to COVID-19.

The European Commission is taking action against the Netherlands for failing to fully implement the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive in respect of the availability of information on entities' beneficial owners.

On July 6, 2020, the Belgian Ministry of Finance announced that the deadline for the filing of corporate tax returns has been extended further, from September 24 to October 29, 2020.

The Belgian Finance Ministry has released guidance on a COVID-19 tax relief measure on offer for employer-paid expenses for teleworking.

The Belgian Government has released a new form for SME corporate taxpayers to access tax reliefs for investments, which were enhanced in response to COVID-19.

Luxembourg and Belgium will extend the duration of an agreement that clarifies the tax rules for cross-border workers affected by COVID-19 restrictions.

The French Ministry of Finance confirmed on August 31, 2020, that several tax agreements applying to cross-border workers during the COVID-19 crisis have been extended.

The Belgian Ministry of Finance has confirmed that the deadline for submitting personal income tax returns for flat-rate taxpayers is December 11, 2020.

On September 22, 2020, Germany provided further details about the government's tax policy priorities for its presidency of the European Union.

The Belgian Ministry of Finance has announced that non-resident taxpayers may now file their tax return electronically for the 2020 tax year.

The OECD has released a new report on countries' tax rules for virtual currencies, alongside an announcement that the Common Reporting Standard will be expanded next year to newly cover virtual currency assets.

Belgium's Minister of Finance has announced a further extension to the 2020 corporate tax return deadline.

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.

Tax revenues fell across the OECD for the first time in a decade during 2019, but a much larger decrease is expected in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the OECD's newly released annual Revenue Statistics report.

European Court of Justice (ECJ) Advocate General Juliane Kokott has opined that the Commission was right to consider that the Belgian practice of making downward adjustments to profits of undertakings forming part of multinational groups, under the "excess profit" ruling scheme, constituted an aid scheme.

The Dutch Government has issued a decree to ensure the country's dividend withholding tax rules comply with the European Court of Justice's ruling in the Sofina case.

Belgium has agreed with the Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, and Germany to extend until March 31, 2021, tax administrative concessions for cross-border workers affected by COVID-19 restrictions.

Belgium's Federal Public Service Finance has announced that businesses may now submit returns through the Belcotax-on-web portal.

At a plenary session on February 11, 2021, Belgium's parliament adopted a draft law for a new annual tax on securities accounts.

Belgium has published in its Official Gazette legislation to introduce the country's new tax on securities accounts.

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.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has said that the Government intends to introduce a digital services tax this year.

The Czech Government is considering whether to delay the introduction of a proposed tax on the provision of digital services and alter its design.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told a congressional hearing on June 17, 2020, that the US Government has withdrawn from international negotiations on new global tax rules for digital companies at the OECD.

The Office of the US Trade Representative has announced that the US will impose additional duties of 25 percent on imports of certain French products from next year in response to the country's decision to introduce a digital services tax.

The United Arab Emirates' Federal Tax Authority has released a new guide on the value-added tax rules for e-commerce and the digital economy.

French Minister of Finance Bruno Le Maire has reportedly said that France intends to collect the country's digital services tax in December 2020.

The United Arab Emirates' Federal Tax Authority has clarified the value-added tax rules that apply to e-commerce transactions.

The OECD has released its annual Consumption Tax Trends report, which highlights that with VAT rates at an all-time high, governments should ensure they have effective VAT frameworks in place to tax e-commerce.

The Swedish tax authority has announced that it will be expending more resources this year on ensuring businesses fully declare income from e-commerce and taxpayers report income from home rentals.

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.

The Irish Revenue has announced the implementation of temporary measures in relation to the close company surcharge regime, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Irish business association Ibec has called for the establishment of a Commission on Taxation, as part of a package of measures to "reboot" the economy after the coronavirus pandemic.

The Irish Revenue has updated its guidance on stamp duty to clarify a number of issues related to the conditions for companies to avail themselves of associated companies relief.

Apple and the Irish Government have been successful in having overturned a European Commission decision that two tax rulings granted to the company by the Irish Government were unlawful.

The Irish Revenue has issued guidance for companies on the temporary acceleration of corporate tax loss relief for accounting periods affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions.

A temporary reduction in Ireland's standard rate of VAT entered into force on September 1, 2020.

The OECD has released its annual Consumption Tax Trends report, which highlights that with VAT rates at an all-time high, governments should ensure they have effective VAT frameworks in place to tax e-commerce.

The Bermuda Monetary Authority on December 15, 2020, released a new consultation paper on its proposal for a conduct of business regulatory regime to better protect retail investors.

The Irish headline rate of VAT will return to 23 percent from March, having been temporarily reduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Highlights: A single can of a sugar sweetened beverage contains sugar equivalent to around 10 teaspoons of table

The United States Council for International Business has called on US authorities to focus its efforts on working with other countries to arrive at an international tax solution to the digitalized economy, rather than tackling countries' unilateral responses.

The UK Government has announced plans to expand its Making Tax Digital project from 2022.