Malaysian authorities are developing draft legislation to level the tax playing field between online retailers and domestic bricks and mortar retailers.

Malaysia's Inland Revenue Board has denied allegations that it is more aggressively pursuing taxpayers affiliated with opposition political parties or their supporters.

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.

Muhammad bin Ibrahim, the Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, has stressed the need for Labuan to review its international tax framework in light of the OECD's work on Action 5 of the base erosion and profit shifting project, on harmful tax practices.

The Australian Government has said that it intends to extend its network of free trade agreements, as part of its new foreign policy agenda.

Prime Minister Najib Razak has defended the Government's decision to introduce a goods and services tax, claiming that the levy "saved" Malaysia from the fall in oil prices.

The Malaysian tax agency on December 1 released guidance on whether gifts provided for no consideration can be excluded from the goods and services tax net.

Malaysia's Inland Revenue Board on January 11, 2018, released guidelines on applying for the resolution of double tax cases through the Mutual Agreement Procedure.

Malaysia's tax agency has released Public Ruling No. 1/2018, setting out the goods and services tax rules concerning the sale of buildings on commercial land that are used for both residential and commercial purposes.

On March 26, 2018, Malaysia's tax agency announced that businesses can newly challenge late-payment penalties in respect of goods and services tax (GST) via the tax agency's online portal.

Malaysia has suspended its MSC Malaysia tax regime, pending changes to bring it into line with recommendations from the OECD's Base Erosion and Profit Shifting initiative.

The Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia has released new guidance on restrictions to the deductibility of interest expenses.

The International Monetary Fund has recommended that the United States raise indirect taxes to boost revenues, to offset the cost of recent tax cuts and spending increases.

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.

The OECD and the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals, and Sustainable Development have finalized three practice notes intended to support resource-rich developing countries to protect their tax bases from erosion and profit shifting.

On March 6, 2019, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued an Accounting Standards Update that is intended to help organizations align their accounting for production costs for films and episodic content produced for television and streaming services.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has said that France should prioritize tax cuts following the conclusion of a three-month national consultation on the Government's economic and tax policies.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced on April 30, 2019, that plans for reductions in personal and corporate income tax will be released by the Government in June 2019.

The IMF has welcomed Luxembourg's efforts to meet international tax standards but cautioned that international tax reform could hit the country's tax base.

On May 26, 2019, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law the Carbon Tax Act No 15 of 2019, which came into effect on June 1, 2019, as announced by the Minister of Finance in the 2019 Budget.

On May 31, 2019, the Hungarian Ministry of Finance announced numerous tax cuts as part of an economic growth plan.

Hungary's 2020 Budget law is before parliament for approval. Most tax-related proposals would become effective from the start of 2020.

A group of 21 Republican members of the US Senate have signed a letter to the Treasury Secretary urging him to amend how capital gains tax liability is calculated.

United States President Donald Trump said on August 20, 2019, that the administration is considering additional tax cuts to help maintain economic growth.

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, Dutch State Secretary for Finance Menno Snel presented the Government's 2020 Tax Plan to the House of Representatives. It includes revised plans for corporate tax cuts.

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 November 12, 2019, Hungary's Ministry of Finance announced that it has submitted to parliament the seventh and final part of its Economic Action Plan, which includes various tax measures.

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.

Belgium should look to broaden its tax base to fund labor tax reductions, the International Monetary Fund has said in its annual report for the country.

The IMF has welcomed the Austrian Government's efforts to lower personal income taxes but said that the labor tax burden remains high.

US congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) has introduced legislation designed to amend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act so that incentives for US corporations to shift income and production overseas are reduced.

The Australian Government has set out the numerous changes made to the tax system on July 1 and launched a consultation on new tax rules for "stapled structures."

The OECD has committed to providing proposals to fix the taxation of the digital economy by 2020, in an update to G20 leaders on international efforts to mitigate base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).

Ireland's 2018 Finance Bill legislates for a new exit tax regime compliant with the EU's Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive.

The UK's 2018 Budget includes changes to tax rules for companies, and notably for multinational groups to conform with the EU's Anti Tax Avoidance Directive. Most significantly, the UK has decided to move ahead of the EU in announcing that it will apply a tax on the turnover of certain digital businesses.

Malaysia's 2019 Budget contains plans for an overhaul of sales and service tax rules and a corporate tax cut for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

On December 11, 2018, the UK Government tabled The Value Added Tax (Input Tax) (Specified Supplies) (Amendment) Order 2018 before the House of Commons to close a VAT avoidance loophole that is exploited by some UK insurers.

The Seychelles says that the OECD has found the territory to have made sufficient reforms to comply with its BEPS Action 5 standard on harmful tax regimes.

The EU's Code of Conduct Group (Business Taxation) has written to authorities in Seychelles to warn that new provisions to the territory's tax regime are considered harmful.

The European Union Code of Conduct Group (Business Taxation) has warned the Government of Belize that the jurisdiction will be placed on the EU's blacklist of non-cooperative territories unless it commits to amend or abolish certain tax rules considered "harmful."

Three Democratic members of the United States Senate have introduced two tax bills designed to discourage US companies from shifting their operations overseas and establishing arrangements in low-tax jurisdictions.

New Zealand's Finance and Expenditure Committee has recommended changes to legislation that would introduce a new requirement for offshore suppliers to collect GST on low-value goods supplied to New Zealand-based consumers.

During a webcast on June 11, the OECD provided a technical update on its work to develop new, modernized international tax rules for the digitalized economy.

New Zealand's Inland Revenue has announced that those who buy and sell property will be required to provide their IRD number on land transfer documentation, to improve the agency's ability to enforce the tax rules on property speculation.

On July 19, 2019, the United States Internal Revenue Service Large Business and International Division announced six additional compliance campaigns.

On August 5, 2019, the US Department of Justice announced that Swiss bank LLB Verwaltung (Switzerland) AG has agreed to pay a penalty of USD10.6m to resolve a case in which it was accused of helping US clients to conceal income.