Ahern awaits Mahon verdict to get tax clearance

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern yesterday admitted he would not be able to get a tax clearance certificate until the Mahon corruption probe delivers its verdict on him.

Mr Ahern brushed aside opposition calls for him to resign over accusations he had failed to comply with tax laws — insisting he would remain in office until 2012.

Mr Ahern said he would provide standards watchdogs with a certificate of application, which he said carried the same weight in tax law.

“The position taken by the Revenue is that they can’t finalise it until Mahon’s work is finished.

“My tax advice is 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].

“So there’s nothing outstanding between me and Revenue. So we will just have to wait until Mahon is finalised.

“I will submit the application certificate and then when it’s finalised I will submit the full tax clearance cert,” he said.

The Mahon probe, which Mr Ahern must appear before again next month, is not expected to deliver its final report for at least another 18 months.

FG, which has filed a complaint against Mr Ahern with the Standards in Public Office Commission, claiming Mr Ahern is not tax compliant, questioned his view of tax rules, claiming the Taoiseach thought one law should operate for him and another for everyone else.

FG will also try to expose differences among the three government parties by tabling a vote of confidence in Mahon when the Dáil returns next week.

The Taoiseach insisted there would be no problem in getting the coalition partners to agree a combined amendment to the Fine Gael motion.

However, the wording will prove tricky as several Fianna Fáil cabinet ministers have accused the probe of exceeding its remit in a “prurient” way, while the Greens insist they have confidence in the inquiry.

PD leader Mary Harney has also refused to criticise the investigation in the way the only other PD TD Noel Grealish has.

Mr Ahern was adamant the tax furore would not drive him from office when asked if he had considered resigning.

“Never — I just got a mandate a few months ago, so I have to see that out. Maybe 2012,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fine Gael expects all its TDs to have furnished tax clearance certificates when the submission deadline for the state’s ethics watchdog closes in February. As the party intensifies pressure on the Taoiseach, a spokesman said he was “not aware of any difficulties” within the party in obtaining tax clearance certificates.

He said every TD has an “obligation to meet their statutory obligations.”

“We don’t expect any of them to state they are not in a position to obtain one because they simply cannot, like the Taoiseach,” he said.