HC asks Dr Yunus to pay Tk 120m tax on donation to 3 trusts

The High Court (HC) has turned down three separate petitions (reference) filed by the Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus against the tax imposition by the revenue authorities over his donation to three trusts named after him.

The HC termed the decision of not exempting him from the taxes over his donations to three trusts in three tax years as right.

A HC bench comprising justice Mohammad Kurshid Alam Sarkar and justice Sardar Md Rashed Jahangir passed the order on Wednesday.

Attorney general AM Amin Uddin said Dr Yunus will have to pay Tk more than 120 million as donation tax for his donations.     

Lawyer Mustafizur Rahman Khan and Sumaiya Ifrit Binte Ahmed stood for Dr Yunus in the court while attorney general AM Amin Uddin and assistant attorney general Farzana Rahman represented the state.

Mustafizur Rahman told Prothom Alo that the further decision over appealing or paying donation taxes will be taken after the copy of the verdict is received.    

According to the lawyers, these three trusts are: Dr Mohammad Yunus Trust, Yunus Family Trust and Yunus Centre Trust -- where Dr Yunus donated Tk 767 million. Later the deputy commissioner of taxes (DCT) imposed Tk 154 million over the donations for the three tax years -- 2011-12, 2012-13, and 2013-14.

The appeal of Dr Yunus regarding the matter was turned down by the commissioner of taxes and the decision the DCT made was upheld. Later he filed an appeal with the tax tribunal and was rejected.

In this circumstance, Dr Yunus filed three separate petitions (reference) with the HC in 2015.