On March 10, the OECD released a new VAT Digital Toolkit for Asia-Pacific (APAC) nations. The toolkit is intended to support local tax authorities to better collect value-added tax on e-commerce activities.

On February 8, 2021, the European Commission launched a consultation on a review of the VAT rules for financial and insurance services.

Belgium has agreed with the Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, and Germany to extend until March 31, 2021, tax administrative concessions for cross-border workers affected by COVID-19 restrictions.

The Dutch Government has issued a decree to ensure the country's dividend withholding tax rules comply with the European Court of Justice's ruling in the Sofina case.

Tax revenues fell across the OECD for the first time in a decade during 2019, but a much larger decrease is expected in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the OECD's newly released annual Revenue Statistics report.

France's Senate is considering the country's 2021 Finance Bill, following approval in late November by the National Assembly.

The French tax authority has confirmed new rules regarding the calculation of VAT on pleasure yacht charters.

In two recent speeches, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has outlined plans to extend COVID-19 supports for French businesses.

African state Burkina Faso has ratified the BEPS multilateral instrument, to make changes to its double tax agreements to counter tax base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).

French Minister of Finance Bruno Le Maire has reportedly said that France intends to collect the country's digital services tax in December 2020.

France has extended the October 15 property tax payment deadline for businesses affected by measures to contain COVID-19.

French Minister of Finance Bruno Le Maire presented the 2021 Finance Bill to parliament on September 28, 2020, which includes provisions to reduced taxes on production and plans to reduce the corporate tax rate next year.

On September 22, 2020, Germany provided further details about the government's tax policy priorities for its presidency of the European Union.

France has cut the amount that tourists must spend to claim back the VAT on their purchases.

The French tax authority has announced that it will modify and extend a scheme that allows employers to pay workers tax-free bonuses.

The French Government has announced proposals to cut taxes on production by EUR20bn (USD23.7bn) in 2021 and 2022.

The French Ministry of Finance confirmed on August 31, 2020, that several tax agreements applying to cross-border workers during the COVID-19 crisis have been extended.

Luxembourg and France have agreed to extend an agreement that eases tax residency rules for cross-border workers affected by COVID-19 restrictions.

The French Government is extending its COVID-19 financial support package for the tourism sector to various additional business types.

France's General Directorate of Public Finance has launched a scheme that allows small companies to request a specific settlement plan for the payment of their taxes.