Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma, has ratified the pending Protocol to the double tax avoidance agreement with Cyprus, confirming removal of the nation from Russia's notorious 'blacklist'.

In October 2011 the Lithuanian Tax Authority under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic if Lithuania approved the rules on filing an application for a biding ruling or APA, “Examination of applications, decision making und change”.

UK signed a deal with Hong Kong aimed at helping turn the City into an offshore trading centre for the renminbi.

Germany and France are pushing the European Union to speed up tax coordination efforts, despite British and Irish opposition, and will soon make proposals to harmonise their corporate tax rates.

We would like to bring to your attention that the House of Representatives voted the Special Settlement of Tax Liability Law of 2011. The relevant Law has been published in the Government's Official Gazette on 12 December 2011.

The Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands (MACI) is introducing a new Annual Tonnage Fee (ATF) structure, which will come into effect on January 1, 2012.

During the November G20 summit, all governments agreed to a multilateral Convention to tackle tax evasion more effectively.

A group of European politicians is plotting to impose the financial transaction tax (FTT) in a way that Britain would be powerless to veto, a British Member of the European Parliament has warned.

Corporate repatriation legislation proposed by Senators Kay Hagan and John McCain would let U.S. businesses bring home offshore profits at an 8.75 percent tax rate.

The pace of insurance company registration in Bermuda has picked up, bolstered in the main by a rise in special purpose insurers.