Singapore's recently released 2019 Budget included few significant tax announcements except confirmation that Singapore's carbon tax will be levied this year and the goods and services tax will be hiked in the medium term.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore is now accepting FATCA returns for the 2018 reporting year and has newly released the FATCA paper nil return for 2018.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore has released new transfer pricing guidance on determining the economic value of taxpayers' commodity marketing and trading activities in Singapore.

On July 5, 2019, Singapore's tax agency released a draft guide that includes proposals for more favorable GST rules for virtual currencies.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has released new guidance for GST-registered persons on the completion of new boxes in the GST F5 return from next year.

Switzerland's agreements for the automatic exchange of financial account information with Hong Kong and Singapore have entered into force.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore has updated its guidance on the introduction from January 1, 2020, of an obligation on Singaporean taxpayers to collect GST on imported services under a reverse charge.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has reported that revenues increased by 4.4 percent in the 2018-2019 fiscal year, in its annual report for the year.

Singapore is to add provisions to draft legislation to enhance the new GST regime for imported services and clarify new rules for virtual currencies.

Singapore and Germany have signed a protocol to their double taxation agreement, which brings the treaty into line with international standards and amends the maximum withholding tax rates that may be charged.

Following agreement reached by the remaining signatories to the Trans-Pacific Partnership earlier this year to push ahead following US President Donald Trump's withdrawal of the United States from the pact, Japan has taken the lead with regard to formulating a plan B for the agreement.

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

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

Coronavirus news: Fears ran amok that Franklin Templeton closing its six debt mutual fund schemes may trigger outflows from debt mutual funds. However, net outflows were only seen in credit risk and medium duration categories

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.

An official said that the people of Myanmar can now get access to quality treatment and latest medical technology in India with the Apollo Group of Hospitals

Researchers from Cambridge University have developed a smart phone application to detect the user's stress levels. The Android Remote Sensing App

A high 'star rating' for a mobile medical app doesn't necessarily reflect medical accuracy or value, observe Johns Hopkins researchers. The research

Dengvaxia, manufactured by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, secured its first regulatory approval in Mexico a fortnight ago and is currently being

Private laboratories and hospitals were overcharging patients for dengue tests, reported recent media reports. Following these reports the Union Health

Dengvaxia, the first vaccine for dengue was approved in 19 countries and European Union by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent dengue

Mosquito bites now could be prevented using clothes made up of the nanomaterial graphene, which is also a material actively used is a lot of products from solar cells to tennis rackets.

Nafamostat mesylate, a tryptase inhibitor, can treat severe dengue disease, according to the team of researchers from Duke-NUS Medical School. The

Highlights: People with mental disorders are more likely to develop other health conditions Mapping the

Highlights: Consuming flavonoid-rich foods can keep Alzheimer's disease at bay Foods rich in flavonoids a

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 European Parliament has begun its inquiry into the Panama Papers with a hearing with the investigative journalists behind the leak.

The total loss to EU member states from the schemes revealed in the Panama Papers could be in the region of between EUR109bn (USD119bn) to EUR237bn, according to a new study commissioned by the European Parliament's PANA committee.

The EU has approved under state aid rules the introduction of a tonnage tax scheme in Estonia and the prolongation of a tonnage tax scheme in Cyprus.

US President Donald Trump has approved safeguard tariffs on imported large residential washing machines and imported solar cells and modules.

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.

The first returns under China's new environmental tax are due online by April 1, 2018.

Drugs approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may hold promise in fighting the new infection known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), stated UTSW scientists.

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.

Regardless of patient gender, age or smoking status, teprotumumab, the first FDA-approved drug for thyroid eye disease, provides significant improvement

Olanzapine decreases the risk of nausea and vomiting among patients with advanced cancer, according to the study published in iJAMA Oncology/i. Charles Loprinzi, M.

On October 16, 2019, the Italian Council of Ministers approved the draft Budget law for 2020, which will prevent an automatic rise in the rate of value-added tax, and includes further measures designed to combat tax avoidance and evasion.

On September 16, 2019, the United States Internal Revenue Service announced the mailing of a time-limited settlement offer for certain taxpayers under audit who participated in abusive micro-captive insurance transactions.

On October 23, 2019, Slovenia's National Assembly adopted a package of tax measures which includes changes to corporate, personal, and capital gains taxes.

The German Cabinet has approved a proposal to reduce the rate of value-added tax on electronic publications. The rate is expected to drop from January 1, 2020.

On September 19, 2019, the lower house of the Austrian parliament approved the first part of a package of tax reforms that will introduce a digital tax as well as bring about changes to certain value-added tax rules.

On November 18, 2019, the Government of the Czech Republic announced that it has agreed on a draft law to introduce a tax on digital services, which will now be submitted to parliament.

The European Union value-added tax gap – the overall difference between expected VAT revenue and actual EU member state collections – was EUR152bn in 2015, says the European Commission, highlighting the need for further reforms to tackle avoidance, error, and evasion.

Appleby, the offshore law firm, has spoken out against recent media coverage, which implies but does not allege that there is wrongdoing in the papers recently exposed that include information on its clients' tax affairs.

Malta's tonnage tax scheme has been conditionally approved for a period of 10 years by the European Commission under EU state aid rules.

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.

Belgium's Council of Ministers has approved a draft law that would temporarily treat the United Kingdom as a member of the European Union for Belgian tax purposes should the UK leave the EU having failed to agree any withdrawal arrangements.

Hong Kong has gazetted an ordinance to establish a new two-tier corporate tax regime from April 1, 2018.

Switzerland's agreements for the automatic exchange of financial account information with Hong Kong and Singapore have entered into force.