Life in Suriname will become more expensive:

“This is the 3rd time that the Surinamese people must pay the price”

Next year the people will have to dig deep into their wallets because the costs of living will spike and those who earn big bucks will have to make an extra contribution to fill the empty treasury. This much became clear during the first annual speech of President Chandrikapersad Santokhi. “And of course it feels unfair to many that all of us have to pay the price for cleaning up the chaos that was left behind for us. “This is the 3rd time that the Surinamese people must pay the price for financial mismanagement.” The entire nation will be hit hard by the fact that 75% of subsidy of SRD 950 million for the Energy Company Suriname (EBS) will be scrapped in phases. The remaining 25% will be used to help out the most vulnerable groups. “We have started with the reorganization of the EBS to upgrade operational efficiency,” said the head of state. People who earn SRD 12,500 per month will have to hand in 10 percent for the solidarity tax. “So not the low income groups,” said the president. Retail prices will of course go up especially given the fact that the import tax will go from 10 to 12%. Entrepreneurs from the small scale gold mining sector will also have to pay more taxes to the government. The royalties will reportedly be raised from 2.25% to 5% before being raised to 7.5%. “This sector works with the mineral resources that belong to the people. They earn well and it is therefore more than reasonable for the people to also get a piece of that pie,” said the head of state.