NBR summons Muhammad Yunus to collect tax dues

The National Board of Revenue has summoned Muhammad Yunus to collect nearly Tk 140 million in taxes due from the Nobel laureate.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 23 March 2015, 02:45 PM
Updated : 23 March 2015, 06:05 PM

The NBR in a letter sent recently asked Yunus to meet with the commissioner of the Taxes Zone-6 on Mar 29.

The zone’s Commissioner Md Meftah Uddin Khan on Monday told bdnews24.com: “It’s nothing special. He’s an honoured taxpayer. He has some dues.

“He has moved the court over this. But we want to resolve it through discussions.”

“That’s why he has been invited,” he said.

Yunus shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the Grameen Bank, which he founded nearly 40 years ago, in 2006.

But he faced much criticism both at home and abroad after a Norwegian TV documentary broadcast in 2010 held him responsible for misusing donor funds.

It had uncovered documents revealing nearly $100 million in donor funds to Grameen Bank were transferred out of the bank to a private corporation, Grameen Kalyan, which was also set up by Yunus.

The Bangladesh Bank in March 2011 had ordered Yunus’ removal as the Grameen Bank managing director, saying that his reappointment was not approved by it and that he had been managing director illegally since 1999.

He went to court to fight the central bank’s order, but lost the legal battle. Two months later, he stepped down from the office.

Commissioner Meftah Uddin Khan on Monday said the dues they claimed were Yunus’ personal tax.

Though he did not reveal the amount, related officials said Yunus had Tk 13,85,25,000 (nearly 140 million) in unpaid taxes.

Khan said the unpaid tax over which Yunus had been called was not his income tax. It was his ‘gift tax’.

If an individual gives someone a gift with the money they have after paying tax on their income, they need to pay tax on the gift.

Gift Tax-1990 is in force.

One of the officials told bdnews24.com that the tax was imposed on the money Yunus had received as award or honorarium at home or abroad over the years.

The NBR for the past three years has been urging the Nobel laureate to pay the taxes. “But he does not want to pay the tax on that money. He has also moved the court after NBR rejected his plea,” said the official.

Asked about the issue, NBR Chairman Md Nojibur Rahman said, “The tax commissioners have the full authority to resolve any tax-related problem.”

“They can discuss the matter with the taxpayers or take administrative action,” he said.

Rahman added that the Zone-6 commissioner was authorised to request Yunus to sit with him to resolve complications regarding his taxes.

However, Yunus was not available for comment as he was currently abroad, said an official of the Yunus Centre in Dhaka.

The official said they would release a statement soon on the issue.