Highlights : World Health Day is observed on April 7th every year globally Aims in improving health of all without a

Ontario's new government has scrapped the province's cap-and-trade carbon pricing regime, effective July 3.

The European Union statistics agency, Eurostat, has released new figures concerning member states' tax revenue collections and their tax mixes for 2015.

The Cypriot tax authority has extended until January 15, 2018, the deadline for multinational corporations to submit their notifications concerning country-by-country reporting for 2017. The deadline had been December 31.

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.

BDO, the accountancy and business advisory firm, has released a report into the rapidly growing issue businesses and governments face with fraud, including tax fraud.

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.

China plans to actively expand imports and open up to foreign investment by reducing tariffs and taxes, according to a work report released by the Government ahead of the annual parliamentary session.

The tax agencies of China and Kazakhstan, with involvement also from the OECD, hosted a three-day tax conference to discuss the provision of capacity building support from China for those countries that will be involved in China's Belt and Road Initiative. It was attended by more than 250 delegates from 49 tax administrations, four international organizations, and five academic institutions.

The government of Nigeria has issued a warning over the use of chloroquine to treat COVID-19, after three people got overdosed, and hospitalized due to poisoning.

Tax officials in Armenia are to receive support from the Italian Revenue Agency to implement initiatives to tackle tax base erosion and profit shifting.

An invitation to submit comments with regards to the corporate tax exemption provided to ports in Italy was published in the January 10, 2020, issue of the Official Journal of the European Union.

The OECD is to host a webcast on February 13, 2020, to present its analysis of the potential impact of its proposals for international tax reform to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalization of the economy.

The International Chamber of Commerce has warned that micro-, small-, and medium-sized businesses' growth prospects are being stymied by complex indirect tax regimes. It has released an issues brief that is intended to contribute towards international reform talks being led by the World Trade Organization.

The European Council has approved new rules for the exchange of VAT payment data relating to cross-border e-commerce transactions.

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

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.

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.

Hong Kong has newly signed an agreement with France to automatically exchange country-by-country reports filed by multinationals.

Hong Kong's Inland Revenue Department on March 5 launched its new Country-by-Country Reporting Portal.

Releasing a progress update, the OECD said international efforts to curb harmful tax practices and prevent the misuse of preferential tax regimes are having a tangible impact worldwide.

Switzerland's country-by-country reporting regime meets international standards and the country effectively exchanges the reports it receives with other countries, an OECD peer review has concluded.

On October 22, 2019, the Swiss Federal Finance Department uploaded a series of publications concerning the value-added tax rules for those participating in and organizing sporting events.

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.

The UAE has recently passed legislation to introduce new country-by-country reporting requirements and new economic substance requirements.

Australia's free trade agreements are being widely used by Australian businesses, according to a new report commissioned by the Government.

The US Internal Revenue Services has released its annual report on the number of advance pricing agreements and applications and made during the 2017 calendar year.

South Korea's Government has announced that it will provide tax relief to small and medium size businesses that have been affected by Japan's decision to remove 159 South Korea products from its export "white list."

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.

The UK's National Audit Office has called for a more comprehensive review of the 1,190 tax relief measures available for taxpayers, which are estimated to have cost the UK revenues worth GBP155bn (USD201.7bn) in 2018-19.

New Zealand has enacted The COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Social Assistance Urgent Measures) Bill to support businesses and individuals cope with the COVID-19 outbreak.

In a recent update, the Internal Revenue Service has announced that it has agreed a bilateral competent authority agreement with authorities in Spain to exchange country-by-country reports.

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.

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.

Releasing a progress update, the OECD said international efforts to curb harmful tax practices and prevent the misuse of preferential tax regimes are having a tangible impact worldwide.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has highlighted the significant impact that recent accounting standard changes will have for financial reports that must be prepared for the year to December 31, 2018, and second quarter reports.

The Australian Taxation Office has issued guidance on how employers can prepare for end-of-year reporting under the new Single Touch Payroll system.

The International Chamber of Commerce has warned that micro-, small-, and medium-sized businesses' growth prospects are being stymied by complex indirect tax regimes. It has released an issues brief that is intended to contribute towards international reform talks being led by the World Trade Organization.

The Australian Taxation Office has announced changes to its CbC reporting system following feedback from multinational groups.

EU member states have been unable to reach an agreement on proposals to release to the public information on multinational enterprises' tax affairs.

South Africa, Jersey, and Belgium are among a handful of territories that have recently announced an extension to the due date for country-by-country reports under the new frameworks being introduced under Action 13 of the OECD's base erosion and profit shifting Action Plan.

On January 8, 2020, the UK Government released a policy paper setting out how the UK will temporarily adopt the "DAC 6" EU disclosure requirements on intermediaries that design or sell potentially harmful tax schemes.

The OECD's public consultation on a review into the new transfer pricing documentation rules proposed as part of BEPS Action 13 has closed. It has published the 79 responses received.

The Irish Government has announced the expansion of its support measures for SMEs affected by the economic impact of the coronavirus.

The OECD has published the comments it has received on a proposal for a framework of Model Rules for sharing and gig economy platforms to report the activities of their users, to support tax authorities to ensure the collection of tax.

On April 15, 2020, a government-commissioned report on the taxation of multinationals was submitted to the State Secretary of Finance recommending various changes to make the Dutch tax system fairer while maintaining the jurisdiction's tax competitiveness.

Brazil's tax agency announced import tax cuts for certain items needed to tackle COVID-19.