SURINAME-President Geerlings-Simons wants to widen tax base.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC – President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons said Wednesday that while the government is seeking to increase revenue, it has not always succeeded because the taxes target nearly the same businesses and citizens.

Delivering her Annual Address to the National Assembly, President Geerlings-Simons said that by next year, the emphasis should shift more towards better tax collection, broadening the tax base, reducing leakages, and strengthening controls.

She said the government will also continue to safeguard purchasing power and social protection.

“A strong state needs sufficient revenue. But the solution cannot always be to tax the same citizens and businesses ever more heavily,” the head of state said, acknowledging that the government has already begun strengthening the Tax and Customs Administration.

She said measures have been taken since 2025 to attract more employees with the necessary expertise, and that the service is also building specific knowledge of the oil and gas sector.

Geerlings-Simons told legislators that six bills have been submitted to the National Assembly in 2026 to establish a Tax and Collection Authority, and that next year modernization efforts would continue with better data, digitalization, targeted checks, and stronger enforcement.

She said the Customs Department will also be further strengthened, noting that smuggling and illegal trade cost significant revenue and disadvantage businesses that abide by the rules.

President Geerlings-Simons said that in cooperation with Dutch Customs, local investigative capacity has been strengthened with a special dog unit and that further professionalism and digitalization should improve control and collection.

President Geerlings-Simons said that on November 6, 2025, two international bonds were issued with a combined value of US$1.175 billion and maturing in five and 10 years. She said the 10-year bond was reopened for US$265 million in February this year.

According to the head of state, the funds from these operations were used primarily to refinance and make existing debt more manageable.

She noted that the government repurchased or repaid existing obligations early.

President Geerlings-Simons said approximately US$185 million from the reopening of the 10-year bond is earmarked for urgent projects, particularly agriculture and restoring healthcare and education facilities.

She said the new financing decisions must fit within a broader debt strategy and that work is continuing to develop the local capital market.

In her address, President Geerlings-Simons said that public servants had also benefited from a 15 percent tax-free allowance, which has been granted to civil servants, teachers, and government employees as of September 2026.

A tax-free allowance had already been granted in March. However, the President warned that higher income alone does not automatically lead to better living conditions; for that to happen, the macroeconomic situation must also remain healthy and the exchange rate stable.

She said the government continues to discuss with teachers ways to improve their position and has reached agreements with civil servants on further negotiations.

According to official figures released here, an estimated SRD 4.15 billion (one SRD = US$ 0.02) has been spent on social services in the first seven months of this year.

The General Old Age Provision (AOV) has been increased from SRD 2,250 to SRD 3,250 per month. Financial assistance for people with disabilities has increased from SRD 2,500 to SRD 3,500, and support for socially vulnerable households has moved from SRD 1,750 to SRD 2,750.

The government said it increased the General Child Allowance from SRD 125 to SRD 250 per month.

Geerlings-Simons told legislators that payment of approximately SRD 257 million in outstanding social entitlements from previous years began this year, and that beneficiary files are being cleaned up and updated.

“We are therefore not choosing between financial discipline and social protection,” she said, adding that the government aims to make social protection financially sustainable and better targeted.

Meanwhile, the main opposition Progressive Reform Party (VHP) has reversed its decision to boycott Wednesday’s parliamentary sitting with its parliamentary leader, Asiskumar Gajadien, saying that their attendance is “out of respect for the Constitution, the institution of the President, and our constitutional responsibility as representatives of the people.

“However, our presence is expressly in protest against the decision-making procedure followed and must in no way be interpreted as agreement with this course of action or as acceptance of the precedent created hereby,” Gajadien added.

The VHP had earlier sent a letter to Speaker Ashwin Adhin lodging a “serious objection” regarding how the decision-making process for organizing the Annual Address took place.

“We request that you formally record this protest in the parliamentary records and ensure that future decisions within the National Assembly are taken in advance, in a democratic and regulatory manner. After all, the credibility of our democratic institution is determined not only by the decisions it makes, but equally by the manner in which these decisions are reached.”