Ahern Comments Further On Tax Certificate Debacle

by Carla Johnson, Investors Offshore.com, London

24 January 2008

Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, has this week denied that he is set to resign over recent tax certificate speculation.

Earlier in the month, Ahern spoke out to clarify reasons as to why he was unable to provide certification to the Oireachtas ethics watchdog to prove he is fully tax compliant.

"I was - and I am - to the best of my knowledge and belief in compliance with my tax obligations. That is my position. That will, I am confident, be evidenced in due course by the issue of a Tax Clearance Certificate," Ahern said at the time.

However, following talks with Revenue, his tax advisors have announced this week that a tax clearance certificate cannot be issued to the Prime Minister until the Mahon Tribunal has completed its work.

Mr. Ahern has since faced several calls from his political opponents to resign, but is denying that he has any intention of doing so,stating, according to reports, that:

"I just got a mandate a few months ago so I have to see that out. Maybe 2012."

Ireland.com quoted the PM as commenting further that:

"The issue here is very simple. In tax law the application certificate and the tax clearance certificate are the same in law. The position taken by the Revenue is that they can't finalise it until Mahon's work is finished. I mean, that's fine by me. I have no difficulty with that, I have no difficulty with the Revenue position."

"My tax advice, and I think many independent tax advisers have said the same on the airwaves, that there's no difficulty with that position. So the application certificate, I'll submit, and then as soon as the matters are finished I will finalise with Revenue and then I will submit that [the tax clearance certificate]," he added.

When asked whether the length of time he must wait before the problem is resolved concerned him, Ahern reportedly observed that:

"To be frank, the only alternatives you would have is to say to Revenue, 'what is your interpretation of all these things' and they don't even expect me to do that. I made a voluntary disclosure and I think Revenue have accepted that position."

Recommended