Outgoing minister Wopke Hoekstra (Finance, CDA) does not think that he should have informed the House of Representatives in recent years about his investment in a company via a letterbox company in the Virgin Islands. On Tuesday, Hoekstra told journalists that he informed the state lawyer and formateur in 2017 about the investment just before he was appointed as minister. He “had no objection” if that information had been made public, but does not think that he should have informed the House of this himself. The minister also stated that the matter has not affected his credibility.
Also read: Minister Hoekstra did not break any law, but was blind to moral questions
On Sunday it was announced via the Pandora Papers that Hoekstra is on a list of names of people who invested money through tax havens. The CDA member claimed to have invested in a friend’s new company in 2009, without checking where the start-up was located. Between 2011 and 2015 he was a member of the Senate. During that period, Hoekstra claimed to have complied with all ‘tax and legal rules’. Nevertheless, the CDA member acknowledges that he should have acted more carefully in the past. “I should have been more alert at the time. I blame myself for not paying enough attention to this.”
Member of Parliament Henk Nijboer (PvdA) asked the outgoing minister during the weekly question time whether he has made more investments through tax structures. Hoekstra then promised “complete transparency”. He said, among other things, that before taking office as a minister, he had run a supplementary pension scheme through “an investment fund based in Guernsey”, a Channel Island that has very low tax rates. Hoekstra stated that the fund ran through his then employer, consultancy McKinsey, which had offered the scheme. The CDA member stated that he had sold the shares before he took office as minister.
Outgoing minister Wopke Hoekstra (Finance, CDA) does not think that he should have informed the House of Representatives in recent years about his investment in a company via a letterbox company in the Virgin Islands. On Tuesday, Hoekstra told journalists that he informed the state lawyer and formateur in 2017 about the investment just before he was appointed as minister. He “had no objection” if that information had been made public, but does not think that he should have informed the House of this himself. The minister also stated that the matter has not affected his credibility.
Also read: Minister Hoekstra did not break any law, but was blind to moral questions
On Sunday it was announced via the Pandora Papers that Hoekstra is on a list of names of people who invested money through tax havens. The CDA member claimed to have invested in a friend’s new company in 2009, without checking where the start-up was located. Between 2011 and 2015 he was a member of the Senate. During that period, Hoekstra claimed to have complied with all ‘tax and legal rules’. Nevertheless, the CDA member acknowledges that he should have acted more carefully in the past. “I should have been more alert at the time. I blame myself for not paying enough attention to this.”
Member of Parliament Henk Nijboer (PvdA) asked the outgoing minister during the weekly question time whether he has made more investments through tax structures. Hoekstra then promised “complete transparency”. He said, among other things, that before taking office as a minister, he had run a supplementary pension scheme through “an investment fund based in Guernsey”, a Channel Island that has very low tax rates. Hoekstra stated that the fund ran through his then employer, consultancy McKinsey, which had offered the scheme. The CDA member stated that he had sold the shares before he took office as minister.
Outgoing minister Wopke Hoekstra (Finance, CDA) does not think that he should have informed the House of Representatives in recent years about his investment in a company via a letterbox company in the Virgin Islands. On Tuesday, Hoekstra told journalists that he informed the state lawyer and formateur in 2017 about the investment just before he was appointed as minister. He “had no objection” if that information had been made public, but does not think that he should have informed the House of this himself. The minister also stated that the matter has not affected his credibility.
Also read: Minister Hoekstra did not break any law, but was blind to moral questions
On Sunday it was announced via the Pandora Papers that Hoekstra is on a list of names of people who invested money through tax havens. The CDA member claimed to have invested in a friend’s new company in 2009, without checking where the start-up was located. Between 2011 and 2015 he was a member of the Senate. During that period, Hoekstra claimed to have complied with all ‘tax and legal rules’. Nevertheless, the CDA member acknowledges that he should have acted more carefully in the past. “I should have been more alert at the time. I blame myself for not paying enough attention to this.”
Member of Parliament Henk Nijboer (PvdA) asked the outgoing minister during the weekly question time whether he has made more investments through tax structures. Hoekstra then promised “complete transparency”. He said, among other things, that before taking office as a minister, he had run a supplementary pension scheme through “an investment fund based in Guernsey”, a Channel Island that has very low tax rates. Hoekstra stated that the fund ran through his then employer, consultancy McKinsey, which had offered the scheme. The CDA member stated that he had sold the shares before he took office as minister.
Outgoing minister Wopke Hoekstra (Finance, CDA) does not think that he should have informed the House of Representatives in recent years about his investment in a company via a letterbox company in the Virgin Islands. On Tuesday, Hoekstra told journalists that he informed the state lawyer and formateur in 2017 about the investment just before he was appointed as minister. He “had no objection” if that information had been made public, but does not think that he should have informed the House of this himself. The minister also stated that the matter has not affected his credibility.
Also read: Minister Hoekstra did not break any law, but was blind to moral questions
On Sunday it was announced via the Pandora Papers that Hoekstra is on a list of names of people who invested money through tax havens. The CDA member claimed to have invested in a friend’s new company in 2009, without checking where the start-up was located. Between 2011 and 2015 he was a member of the Senate. During that period, Hoekstra claimed to have complied with all ‘tax and legal rules’. Nevertheless, the CDA member acknowledges that he should have acted more carefully in the past. “I should have been more alert at the time. I blame myself for not paying enough attention to this.”
Member of Parliament Henk Nijboer (PvdA) asked the outgoing minister during the weekly question time whether he has made more investments through tax structures. Hoekstra then promised “complete transparency”. He said, among other things, that before taking office as a minister, he had run a supplementary pension scheme through “an investment fund based in Guernsey”, a Channel Island that has very low tax rates. Hoekstra stated that the fund ran through his then employer, consultancy McKinsey, which had offered the scheme. The CDA member stated that he had sold the shares before he took office as minister.