By LCN Business Desk
Suriname intends to spend eleven billion more than it raises next year, and the figure it inherited is nearly as large as the one it is budgeting for.
President Jennifer Simons delivered her second annual address, the Jaarrede, to an extraordinary public session of De Nationale Assemblée in the Congreshal on Wednesday 30 September 2026. The draft 2027 budget she set out puts total government revenue at SRD 70.1 billion, total spending at SRD 80.9 billion, and the deficit at SRD 10.8 billion, equal to 4 per cent of gross domestic product.
Of the spending, SRD 25.4 billion is for operational costs and SRD 55.6 billion for programmes.
What do the official figures say, exactly?
The Assembly's own record settles them, and one widely reported number is not what it appears.
De Nationale Assemblée published the totals in its own account: "Voor 2027 worden de totale overheidsinkomsten geraamd op SRD 70,1 miljard, terwijl de totale uitgaven zijn geraamd op SRD 80,9 miljard. Het geraamde begrotingstekort bedraagt daarmee SRD 10,8 miljard." Total revenue of SRD 70.1 billion, spending of SRD 80.9 billion, and therefore a deficit of SRD 10.8 billion. The Office of the President carried the same totals.
| The draft 2027 budget | SRD |
|---|---|
| Total revenue | 70.1 billion |
| Total spending | 80.9 billion |
| of which operational | 25.4 billion |
| of which programmes | 55.6 billion |
| Deficit | 10.8 billion, or 4 per cent of GDP |
Figures as published by De Nationale Assemblée and the Office of the President.
The SRD 46.8 billion that led much of the coverage is the tax share of the SRD 70.1 billion revenue estimate, not the revenue total.
Starnieuws reported tax receipts forecast at SRD 46.8 billion, about SRD 4.2 billion above the adjusted 2026 estimate. Within that, income tax is expected to raise almost SRD 20.1 billion and value added tax, the BTW, about SRD 11.6 billion. Direct taxes come to SRD 22.6 billion and indirect taxes to about SRD 24.2 billion, with import duties contributing more than SRD 6.2 billion and the consumption tax on motor fuels about SRD 4.1 billion.
What did the Government say it inherited?
Roughly SRD 7 billion in unpaid bills.
On taking office the Government found payment arrears of approximately SRD 7 billion, Suriname Herald reported. Against a budgeted 2027 deficit of SRD 10.8 billion, the arrears alone are close to two thirds of a full year's planned shortfall.
Simons told the Assembly that the economy remains fragile and that government spending has to be kept under control, Dagblad Suriname reported of the address.
Why does a Surinamese budget matter next door?
Because the same Government is funding a state airline whose last approved accounts are eleven years old.
This newspaper reported in August that Suriname's state carrier SLM receives between US$1 million and US$2.2 million a month in state support, that a member of the National Assembly asked in August what a year of it had bought, and that the transport minister said in June the airline's debts had been presented more favourably than reality. The piece is Suriname Pays Its Airline Up to US$2.2 Million a Month.
A budget that plans a deficit of 4 per cent of GDP, and a government that found SRD 7 billion of arrears on arrival, is the fiscal setting in which that subsidy is paid.
What the title card shows
Every data point on the article's title card, in text.
The panel, "Suriname's draft 2027 budget":
- SRD 70.1 billion. Total government revenue estimated for 2027. Source: De Nationale Assemblée.
- SRD 80.9 billion. Total spending estimated for 2027. Source: De Nationale Assemblée.
- SRD 10.8 billion. The estimated deficit, equal to 4 per cent of gross domestic product.
- SRD 46.8 billion. Forecast tax receipts, about SRD 4.2 billion above the adjusted 2026 estimate.
- SRD 25.4 billion. Spending on operational costs, against SRD 55.6 billion on programmes.
- SRD 7 billion. The payment arrears the Government says it found on taking office.
The footer strip:
- 30 September 2026. The date President Jennifer Simons delivered the Jaarrede to De Nationale Assemblée.
- 4 per cent. The deficit as a share of gross domestic product.
- SRD 20.1 billion. Income tax, the largest single tax line, against SRD 11.6 billion from BTW.
- Second. The number of annual addresses President Simons has now delivered.
What is unresolved in the figures?
What closes the gap, and on what terms.
The draft budget sets out what Suriname intends to raise and spend. On the public record this newspaper can find, no account has been given in the address of how the SRD 10.8 billion shortfall is to be financed, whether by domestic borrowing, external lending or drawing on reserves. A deficit figure is a statement of intent; the financing is a separate instrument and it has not been published alongside it.
The budget is a draft. It goes to De Nationale Assemblée for treatment, and the figures above are the Government's proposal rather than an enacted appropriation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the headline figures in Suriname's draft 2027 budget?
Total revenue of SRD 70.1 billion, total spending of SRD 80.9 billion, and a deficit of SRD 10.8 billion, which the Government puts at 4 per cent of gross domestic product. Spending splits into SRD 25.4 billion operational and SRD 55.6 billion for programmes.
Is SRD 46.8 billion the revenue figure?
No. SRD 46.8 billion is the forecast for tax receipts, which is the tax share of the wider SRD 70.1 billion revenue estimate. It is about SRD 4.2 billion above the adjusted 2026 estimate.
Where does the tax money come from?
Income tax is forecast to raise almost SRD 20.1 billion and value added tax about SRD 11.6 billion. Direct taxes total SRD 22.6 billion and indirect taxes about SRD 24.2 billion, with import duties above SRD 6.2 billion and the consumption tax on motor fuels about SRD 4.1 billion.
What were the arrears the Government mentioned?
On taking office the Government found payment arrears of approximately SRD 7 billion, close to two thirds of the full deficit it is now budgeting for in 2027.
When and where was this presented?
President Jennifer Simons delivered her second Jaarrede, the annual address, to an extraordinary public session of De Nationale Assemblée in the Congreshal on Wednesday 30 September 2026.