The interim government plans to introduce a provision under which recipients of the Nobel Prize and nine other international awards will be exempt from paying taxes on those earnings.
Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed presented the proposed budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, amounting to Tk7,89,999 crore, in a televised speech on Monday.
The announcement came in the proposed budget.
Awards received from foreign governments will also be tax-free.
Besides the Nobel Prize, the awards listed for tax exemption include the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Booker Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the Simon Bolivar Prize, the Academy Awards (Oscars), the Grammy Awards, the Emmy Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, and the Cannes Film Festival Awards.
According to the existing income tax law, if any income from abroad is brought into the country following remittance rules, it is tax-exempt.
However, the law previously did not specify anything regarding international awards received while residing in Bangladesh.
An official from the National Board of Revenue (NBR), speaking on condition of anonymity, said told Bangla Tribune that due to the lack of clarity in the law, if someone received an international award while living in Bangladesh and brought the prize money into the country, they would have had to pay standard taxes on it.
However, with the proposed changes, the Nobel and other listed awards will now be exempt from taxation, even if earned while residing in Bangladesh.
