The Belgian tax agency has issued a reminder to value-added tax-registered persons of their obligations to file VAT returns and pay VAT during the holiday season.
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.
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."
On February 20, 2020, Malta's Commissioner for Revenue said tax payments by bank draft or check issued by foreign banks will no longer be accepted.
The IMF has said that Malta should look for ways to diversify its tax base and strengthen tax revenues.
Malta's Commissioner for Revenue on January 2, 2020, issued a single set of guidelines on the automatic exchange of financial account information.
The Office of Malta's Commissioner for Revenue has updated guidelines in relation to the Notional Interest Deduction rules.
Malta's Commissioner for Revenue recently announced electronic filing deadline extensions for corporate income tax returns.
Malta has reiterated its commitment to fighting aggressive tax planning, joining other EU member states who have unanimously agreed to amend the EU's tax information sharing law, the Directive on Administrative Cooperation.
The number of advance pricing agreements between EU member states and companies rose by 64 percent from 2015 to 2016, according to research by Eurodad.
The European Commission has sent letters of formal notice to Cyprus, Greece, and Malta for not levying the correct amount of value-added tax on yachts.
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.
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.
Greens/EFA members of the European Parliament have called on the EU Code of Conduct Group to be more transparent about the criteria it used to create the EU's new blacklist of non-cooperative territories and how it will manage it going forward.
Malta's tonnage tax scheme has been conditionally approved for a period of 10 years by the European Commission under EU state aid rules.
A new report has been issued following an audit into how taxes in Malta are administered.
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 Minister for Finance, Edward Scicluna, told delegates to a recent law conference at the Old University in Valletta that beneficial ownership regulations will be published in the coming weeks.
Malta has enacted rules removing the bias in favor of debt financing by creating a notional interest deduction for equity financing.
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.
A delegation from the European Parliament's PANA Committee will travel to Switzerland to discuss the efforts being taken to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and tax offences.
Malta's Minister for Finance, Edward Scicluna, recently announced the launch of a number of fiscal incentives, which are intended to boost the take-up of voluntary private pensions.
European car manufacturers have called on governments to ensure that a new test for measuring vehicle emissions does not create tax distortions for new cars entering the market.
The European Commission has published its annual taxation trends report.
The Spanish Government has published the draft bill to introduce a digital services tax in Spain, beginning the formal parliamentary process needed to introduce the measure.
On March 1, 2020, Turkey's recently approved tax on certain digital services went into effect.
The finance ministers of France, Germany, Italy, and Spain have put their names to a statement calling for countries to reach an agreement on solving the tax challenges of the digital economy by the end of 2020.
The European Council has approved new rules for the exchange of VAT payment data relating to cross-border e-commerce transactions.
In a new report for G20 ministers, the OECD has provided an update on its work to tackle tax base erosion and profit shifting relating to multinational businesses.
France's Directorate General of Public Finance confirmed in a statement issued on February 10, 2020, that companies liable for the country's digital services tax can delay payment of upcoming installments of the tax until December 2020.
The Turkish tax authority has published a draft communique on the application of the digital sales tax, which is set to come into effect on March 1, 2020.
On January 8, 2020, a bill was introduced in the Senate of the US state of Maryland that would impose a tax on revenues associated with digital advertising derived in the state.
Norway's Minister of Finance, Siv Jensen, has said that Norway will adopt a national digital services tax if negotiations towards an international digital tax framework fail to materialize this year.
On January 9, 2019, the United States Internal Revenue Service announced the launch of a new Gig Economy Tax Center, which is intended to help taxpayers meet their tax obligations through more streamlined information.
On January 6, 2020, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that an on-the-record but off-camera public hearing would be held on January 7 on proposed action against France's digital services tax (DST).
The Austrian Ministry of Finance has published guidance in English regarding the Digital Tax Act 2020, which was approved by the upper house of the Austrian parliament on October 10, 2019, and which applies to the provision of digital advertising services from 2020.
The United States may impose additional duties of up to 100 percent on certain French products in retaliation for France's digital services tax, which a newly published report by the US Trade Representative has concluded discriminates against certain US companies.
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.
On September 23, 2019, the French Government outlined a number of measures that will be included in the 2020 Finance Law to ensure the payment of value-added tax on items bought by French residents from online marketplaces.
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.
Many US states will begin to impose sales and use tax obligations on remote sellers and marketplace facilitators from October 1, 2019, largely in response to the United States Supreme Court's landmark decision in the Wayfair case.
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.
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.
On September 5, 2019, the Government of the Czech Republic received from the Ministry of Finance draft legislation for the introduction of a temporary digital services tax, which was first announced in April 2019.
The Governments of France and the United States are reportedly close to settling a dispute surrounding France's digital services tax.
On August 19, 2019, the Office of the United States Trade Representative held an off-camera public hearing on France's recently introduced digital services tax, attended by three major technology firms.
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.
Mauritius has published in its Official Gazette legislation to enact measures announced in the territory's latest Budget, contained in The Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2019.
Spain's acting Economy Minister, Nadia Calvino, said the Government will seek approval of legislation to introduce a digital services tax at the earliest opportunity.
The Slovenian tax authority announced on July 9, 2019, that it will increase tax compliance checks on companies carrying out certain services for foreign e-commerce platforms to ensure they are charging VAT when required.