The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has again insisted that seven associated companies of Grameen Bank have availed income tax exemption illegally.
NBR Chairman Md Ghulam Hussain trashed the statements of the seven of the legally independent companies, which earlier claimed that they had not received the tax exemption using the brand name of Grameen Bank.
At a press briefing at his office in Dhaka Thursday, Hussian said the statements of the seven companies were not true, as they did not pay taxes.
The NBR chairman read out a written statement and did not give opportunities to reporters to ask any question.
The briefing came a day after seven legally independent companies bearing Grameen names protested the NBR claim that they had availed tax exemption facilities illegally using the name of the microcredit bank.
In a joint statement, the companies, who do not have legal ties with Grameen Bank, termed the allegations of obtaining illegal tax exemption completely baseless.
They said they had submitted income tax returns regularly and paid taxes accordingly.
The companies are: Grameen Fisheries and Livestock Foundation, Grameen Capital Management Ltd, Grameen Communications, Grameen Shakti, Grameen Udyog, Grameen Trust and Grameen Kalyan.
The protest from the companies came after the NBR, in a report submitted to the cabinet on Monday, said the companies had enjoyed income tax exemption facilities unlawfully — a claim which got immediate backing from Finance Minister AMA Muhith.
Source: The Daily Star
