FE REPORT
The interim government moves to repeal a controversial tax provision that grants tax exemptions on donations made to the institutions named after Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Under the provision, individual taxpayers are eligible for tax rebates on the amount donated to these institutions.
Tax authorities are also reviewing and identifying beneficiaries of such political privileges, who have been claiming tax exemptions for their contributions to such institutions, according to sources within the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
Senior official of the NBR said the income tax wing would soon issue a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO), scrapping this facility.
There have been widespread allegations of misuse, with some institutions reportedly being named after Sheikh Mujib just to claim the tax benefit.
Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled the country in the face of student-mass uprising, established numerous national-level institutions named after her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh. Critics allege that these actions were made without regard for public aspirations and involved the excessive use of state funds.
As per Income Tax Act-2023, taxpayers are entitled to tax rebates in 15 specific sectors, including "any amount donated to a national-level institution established in memory of the Father of the Nation."
Officials said numerous institutions were established across the country after the name of Sheikh Mujib during the Awami League regime.
The NBR was compelled to provide tax rebate facility for donations to these institutions.
However, the current interim government believes such a law has lost its relevance and is taking preparations to abolish it.
NBR has no precise data on whether any taxpayer has ever availed of tax exemptions under this provision.
Over the past 15 years, the Awami League government made extensive efforts to use Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's name.
However, following the fall of AL government on August 5, citizens across the country expressed their resentment by dismantling Sheikh Mujib's sculptures across the country.
[email protected]
