Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus yesterday said he has contested the gift tax claim raised by the National Board of Revenue, as the donations were supposed to enjoy tax exemption as per existing rules.

The microcredit pioneer receives very high fees for speaking at international conferences; and in many places, audiences purchase tickets to hear him speak, Yunus Centre said in a statement.

Several books written by him have been translated into 25 languages around the world, many of them featured on the New York Times Best Seller list. Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank, remits the earnings from books, speeches and prizes back to Bangladesh through formal banking channels and has been paying the requisite taxes against the income on a regular basis, according to the statement.

From his earnings of Tk 77.42 crore in financial years 2011-2014, Yunus donated Tk 72 crore to Muhammad Yunus Trust for charitable purposes, research and development and social development, and Tk 5 crore to Yunus Family Trust for his family members' welfare.

He did so after paying all the necessary taxes claimed by the tax authority and showed these donations in his income tax return, according to the statement.

“The tax authority accepted this up to 2013 and did not raise any questions and issued tax payment certificate accordingly.”

In May 2014, NBR sent a notice to Yunus to pay Tk 15.39 crore as gift tax on the donations to the two trusts.

The statement also said Yunus contested on the ground that this is not legally required as the donation is tax-free according to the Gift Tax of 1990. He has appealed to the high court and the case is now sub-judice.

The NBR has sent a notice on March 23 asking Yunus or his representative to meet with the tax commissioner on March 29 regarding the gift tax issue.

Yunus's representative will accordingly meet the commissioner on the date, according to the statement.