Yunus gets more time from NBR over tax claims
The National Board of Revenue yesterday rescheduled a meeting with Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus or his representative to April 13 on its tax claims over donating his earned money to family members.
Mahbubur Rahman, a tax adviser to Yunus, met Tax Commissioner Md Meftha Uddin Khan yesterday and sought more time, saying that the Nobel laureate is out of the country and it is not possible to talk on the matter without his opinion.
The tax office issued a letter to Yunus last week asking him or his representative to attend a meeting yesterday in a bid to realise the gift tax claims upon the Nobel laureate. The NBR said Yunus had given out about Tk 77 crore as gifts to his family members and others over three assessment years, against which, Tk 15.39 crore were payable to the state as taxes.
However, Yunus contested the tax claims, citing that the donations were supposed to enjoy tax exemptions as per existing rules. The microcredit pioneer receives high fees for speaking at international conferences; and in many places, audiences purchase tickets to hear him speak, Yunus Centre said in a statement last week.
Several books written by him have been translated into 25 languages around the world, and many of them have been 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 his income on a regular basis, according to the statement. From his earnings of Tk 77.42 crore in fiscal 2011-2014, Yunus donated Tk 72 crore to the 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 certificates accordingly.” Yunus contested on the ground that this is not legally required as the donation is tax-free according to Gift Tax 1990. He has appealed to the high court and the case is now sub-judice.
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