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 and the EU are to link their emissions trading systems from next year, after the Swiss Federal Council approved revisions to the country's Ordinance on the Reduction of CO2 Emissions.

Switzerland is to amend its domestic framework for the automatic exchange of information, in line with recommendations made by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

Liechtenstein and Switzerland have agreed a new cooperation pact in the area of value-added tax administration and enforcement.

Switzerland and Italy are to amend the customs status of the Italian enclave of Campione d'Italia.

The EU has announced the removal of eight jurisdictions from its tax blacklist.

The UAE's Federal Tax Authority has issued guidance on whether a supplier or consumer is liable for VAT on goods or services for contracts negotiated before VAT was introduced.

The UAE's Federal Tax Authority has announced that it will waive late registration penalties for businesses that have not yet registered for VAT, on the condition that they do so by April 30 of this year.

The European Commission is to take steps to ensure that EU external development and investment funds cannot be channelled or transited through entities in countries included on the EU's "blacklist" of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions.

The UAE's Cabinet has announced that wholesale trading in gold and diamonds will be made exempt from value-added tax.

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.

Citizens from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will newly be able to claim refunds for the VAT they incur when building their own home.

Japan's proposed sales tax hike is expected to go ahead as planned in 2019 after a landslide win by incumbent Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

In introducing its new 2017 International Tax Competitiveness Index, the Tax Foundation, a US tax policy think tank, notes the importance of simple but effective tax regimes and highlights New Zealand as the country that has implemented particularly positive reforms.

Hong Kong has signed a new free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is expected to become effective from January 2019.

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.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, has announced a task force will be set up to consider ways to mitigate the negative impact of the planned 2019 consumption tax rise.

The OECD has reported on the progress achieved to improve tax transparency internationally under the new Common Reporting Standard (CRS), ahead of the meeting of G20 finance ministers in Fukuoka, Japan.

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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 UK tax agency has announced that it has scheduled two new webinars to support the construction industry to come to terms with the new VAT reverse charge being introduced on building and construction services from October 1.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has automatically registered 95,000 businesses for its simplified import procedures, allowing most UK traders up to six months to pay import duties and submit customs declarations, if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on October 31, 2019.

Airbnb has disclosed that it has been contacted by HM Revenue and Customs regarding the application of tax laws or regulations impacting the company's business, adding that some matters "may result in litigation".

The Conservative Party in the UK has won an outright majority in elections held on December 12, 2019.

The Argentine Government has announced a number of tax-related measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The UK Government has announced that it will delay ramping up its Making Tax Digital project, in light of COVID-19.

The OECD has launched a review of 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.

On November 22, 2019, the United States Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations confirming that individuals taking advantage of the increased gift and estate tax exclusion amounts in effect from 2018 to 2025 will not be adversely impacted after 2025 when the exclusion amount is scheduled to drop to pre-2018 levels.

Democrats in the United States Senate have introduced a bill that would block proposals to introduce a "high-tax exemption" to the Global Intangible Low-Tax Income regime.

On March 31, 2020, the United States Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service launched the Employee Retention Credit scheme, designed to encourage businesses to keep employees on their payroll amid the COVID-19 crisis.

The European Commission has warned taxpayers in Europe of letters being sent by fraudsters bearing its name and demanding the payment of tax not due.

The OECD on March 12 released a third round of peer reviews of countries' efforts to implement the BEPS minimum standard on improving tax dispute resolution mechanisms.

The European Commission is taking Spain to the Court of Justice over the imposition of "disproportionate" sanctions for failure to report assets held abroad.

On November 15, 2019, the European Commission announced the launch of an in-depth state aid investigation into tax exemptions provided to Italian ports, but welcomed commitments from Spain to abolish similar exemptions for Spanish ports from next year.

The Spanish Socialist Party and the Podemos movement, which will form the next governing coalition, has released their policy document, which includes plans for a corporate minimum tax, among other tax measures.

The Isle of Man is to introduce new penalties for tax return errors from October 6, 2016.

The Isle of Man Government has committed to enhancing the effectiveness of arrangements to share "beneficial ownership" information with the United Kingdom.

More than 20 jurisdictions have signed up to a pilot project to exchange data held on beneficial ownership registers and registers of trusts, according to UK Chancellor George Osborne.

The Canada Revenue Authority is auditing over 750 taxpayers with suspected links to offshore "tax havens" and investigating 20 cases of tax evasion, the Government has said.

The Isle of Man Treasury has warned that time is running out for taxpayers who have failed to declare all their taxable income.

The Canadian Government has said that it will review its tax ruling process and voluntary disclosures program as part of its response to recommendations made last year by a parliamentary committee.

The Isle of Man's 2018 Budget maintains the zero percent company tax rate, and announces a banking tax review, which will look at taxing all banking profits at the 10 percent rate from next year.

The Australian Government is to simplify taxpayers' compliance with rules designed to prevent shareholders from using private company profits without paying tax at their marginal rates.

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."