Idsinga reveals business interests days after resigning as State Secretary

Two days after he stepped down as State Secretary of Finance, Folkert Idsinga has finally disclosed his business interests. He did this as a private individual, as he said he would when he stepped down. In addition to a holiday home in Zeeland, the list also includes minority interests in vending machine operator Vending2smile and Algaerator 906, the company that was central to a NOS publication about Idsinga.

The investment in the algae company was made via an “active” tax structure, NOS reported. Regarding his interest in Algaerator 906, Idsinga wrote in his overview: “Agreements were made with the tax authorities about these activities in 2019, the implementation of these was subsequently checked by the tax authorities with a positive outcome; reported in the report of the formateur.” The formateur refers to the man who led the government formation process. The agreements were made before Idsinga entered politics.

The NSC politician also listed shares in over 80 listed companies, including the Dutch ING and ASML. These interests are managed by an asset manager, Idsinga said.

He also mentioned a holiday home in Zeeland that he rents out, and a “summer chalet” on a Dutch recreation park that he uses exclusively for private purposes.

Idsinga resigned as State Secretary after a majority in parliament demanded openness about his business interests. The support of the coalition party PVV played a major role in this.

“I am affected by the political force field and the dynamics surrounding manners and tone,” Idsinga said on Friday when announcing his resignation at his Ministry. About social media posts by PVV leader Geert Wilders, he said: “I experience the way in which messages are spread via social media as very damaging to politics.”