The National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Monday said it has waived the income tax for Grameen Bank for the next five years to remove discrimination in this field. Grameen Bank has been enjoying the tax exemption since its establishment in 1983. But the benefits were stopped in 2020. Grameen Bank was launched by Nobel Peace laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus, currently the chief adviser of the interim government. The tax exemption until 2029 was reinstated on October 10, Thursday in a statutory order after a four-year stoppage.The NBR in a press release said that to end the existing discrimination Grameen Bank has been given the waiver on all income until December 31, 2029 on some conditions.It did not provide any details of the conditions. It mentioned that other institutions operating homogeneous microcredit programmes same as Grameen Bank are enjoying the tax benefits. However, Grameen Bank will still be required to submit annual income tax returns, as per the gazette. NBR to focus on out-of-court settlement of tax disputes to boost revenue According to the press release since the inception of Grameen Bank- established through the Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983 - the income tax was waived on any income of the said institution, exemption from paying super tax or business profit tax.Established through the Grameen Bank Ordinance, 1983 and the subsequent Grameen Bank Act, 2013, Grameen Bank is not a Scheduled Bank and the institution primarily operates microcredit activities, the NBR press release said.It said that Grameen Bank does not enjoy the same tax exemption as per the Income Tax Act, 2023, despite providing homogenous services i.e. microcredit, only because it is not registered by the Microcredit Regulatory Authority.However, Grameen Bank will still be required to submit annual income tax returns, as per the gazette.

Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus has said empowering women by turning them into entrepreneurs is key to the overall development of society and the focus of any government should be on creating entrepreneurs, not job seekers. Yunus was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Bodoland Knowledge Festival in Kokrajhar, the administrative headquarters of the Bodoland Autonomous Region of Assam. He was invited as the chief guest at the festival which took place from February 27 to March 2. Yunus said: "We just do not give a chance to people to become entrepreneurs. We push them to become job-seeker instead." "Grameen Bank's initiatives could bring a change in Bangladesh by turning women into entrepreneurs. "If 10 million women (borrowers of Grameen Bank) could become entrepreneurs, then we can easily conclude anybody can become an entrepreneur." The festival focused on implementing Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 in Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) and the world at large. Issues discussed included science and technology, indigenous knowledge systems, women empowerment, child rights and protection, peace-building and good governance, and the role of BTR. More than 300 delegates from across India, and 35 from 14 countries participated in the festival. Besides addressing the festival, Yunus spoke at Bodoland College and Bodoland University. He spoke to the students and teachers at Rangiya College and Guwahati University. He had an intensive exchange of thoughts on education with the vice-chancellors of 10 universities in Assam in a special session on the sideline of the Bodoland Knowledge Festival. BTR was created through a peace treaty in 2020 after almost 30 years of underground armed struggle by Bodos of Assam demanding a separate state for them. Many people gave their lives in the struggle. Under the peace treaty, an autonomous Bodoland territorial region was created under the leadership of Promod Boro who became the first chief executive of the autonomous Bodo territory to ensure autonomy for the Bodo people. Knowledge Festival was the first international event organised by the Bodoland Territorial Council to get connected with the bigger world to find ideas to bring changes to Bodo people.  

Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has sought banks account details from Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus. On Thursday BFIU sent a letters to banks seeking information on all types of accounts held by Yunus and credit card transactions by him. The agency asked former managing director of Grameen Bank to send the transaction records to BFIU by Tuesday. It is clear why such information was being sought. Also read: BFIU seeks bank account details of 23 e-commerce platforms According to a BFIU source, various agencies have been asked to provide information on the bank transactions of the person concerned. In the case of Yunus, no such organization has sought such information. Bangladesh Bank has requested this information for its own needs. It is known that in 2016, Bangladesh Bank and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) took information about the bank accounts of Yunus and his family members.  Younus was Managing Director of Grameen Bank since its inception in 1983. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 jointly with Grameen Bank. Also read: HC stays labour law violation case against Dr Yunus for 6 months However, the government removed him from the post of MD in 2011 due to his retirement age. Yunus went to the high court challenging the government's decision and lost. At the time, lawmakers from various European countries, as well as then-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, pressed the government to change its decision in favour of Yunus.

Nobel Laureate Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus is going to hold several discussions with global social business leaders about the post pandemic world in the observance of Social Business Day on Friday.