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.

About 260,000 businesses with operations in China will begin to be assessed for liability to the country's new environmental tax starting next month.

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.

The OECD recently released the seventh round of stage one peer review reports, assessing eight jurisdictions' efforts to implement the BEPS Action 14 minimum standard on tax dispute resolution.

French pharmaceutical company Sanofi is ready to offer the French authorities, millions of doses of Plaquenil containing hydroxychloroquine, to treat

WHO has announced a global trial named 'SOLIDARITY' to identify if any drug can treat infection caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The trial,

Medications being used to treat COVID-19 are known to cause prolongation of the QTc in some people. The QTc is an indicator of the health of the heart's electrical recharging system.

Heart and kidney patients should keep taking their drugs as inaccurate medical information has flooded social media and other channels, advised researchers.

Asthma, allergy, arthritis patients using glucocorticoids on a routine basis are at high risk of getting infected with coronavirus, according to a new

A potential new vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic has been announced by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists.

Scientists are exploring rotavirus to develop a vaccine that will protect children against COVID-19. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues its global spread, vaccine development is on everyone's mind.

EIDD-2801, the new antiviral drug shows promise in reducing lung damage. Testing in mice is completed and it will soon enter to human clinical trials.

Scientists are working to collecting and using convalescent plasma to develop a passive immunization program to treat patients hospitalized for COVID-19.

BCG vaccine may not prevent infection with the novel coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO therefore didn't recommend

The pandemic has suddenly changed the medication needs of masses with a clear preference being shown for respiratory, anti-diabetic, cardiac therapies.

No drug improves the clinical outcome of patients hospitalized with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 over supportive care, according to the study in iMed/i, a new medical journal published by Cell Press.

The new review has described the growing skepticism regarding adoption of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 patients. The review is published in FASEB journal.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the experimental remdesivir (anti-viral medication) to treat COVID-19 patients.

Using repurposed drugs to treat COVID-19 would greatly reduce the time needed to gain FDA approval again. Details of the research on two repurposed drugs

Most seriously ill COVID-19 patients will be treated with the antiviral medication Remdesivir in America the maker of the drug has announced, as tensions

In treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients, anticoagulants or blood thinners help improve their chances of survival, reported Mount Sinai COVID Informatics Center researchers.

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 March 12, 2020, the Italian Revenue Agency announced the suspension of its audit activities in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.

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.

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

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.

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.

The OECD recently released the seventh round of stage one peer review reports, assessing eight jurisdictions' efforts to implement the BEPS Action 14 minimum standard on tax dispute resolution.

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.

Switzerland is due to introduce its new corporate tax regime from the beginning of 2020.

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

The Swiss Government has announced that it will waive interest on late payments of tax, to allow companies to delay their tax payments.

The Swiss Federal Council has announced that it will expand a system of guarantees for SMEs to provide support for start-ups during the coronavirus pandemic.

The OECD is seeking input from taxpayers on dispute resolution mechanisms in place in Aruba, Bahrain, Barbados, Gibraltar, Greenland, Kazakhstan, Oman, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam, as part of follow-up work under BEPS Action Plan Action 14.

The OECD is seeking taxpayers' input on the mutual agreement procedure frameworks in place in the fourth batch of countries that will now be peer reviewed under the base erosion and profit shifting project: Australia, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, and Portugal.

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

Highlights: The current global crisis with COVID-19 infection provides telehealth the ideal opport

Highlights : In India, over 17,265 confirmed novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases and 543 deaths as of yesterd

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 Dutch Government will allow taxpayers to defer payments of certain taxes under a new package of coronavirus economic relief measures.

The German Ministry of Finance has adopted a circular including various tax relief measures for businesses affected by the coronavirus outbreak.