Member of Parliament · Democratic Party · Sint Maarten

Viren V. Kotai

A fresh voice for Sint Maarten's economy and public finances.

"It's time for innovative solutions that involve our citizens in nation-building."
Viren V. Kotai

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The MP & his workMeet Viren KotaiHis background, priorities and parliamentary record.Explore his work →

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Who pays. Where it goes. What changes.

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Preview the budget hereThe money flow, revenue and ministry summaries.

The national budget · 2027

DraftBefore Parliament

The whole draft budget, in one picture.

Draft, presented to Parliament on 8 September 2026 and not yet adopted. The government plans to take in Cg 670.3M and spend Cg 662.2M on running the country in 2027.

Every figure links to the page it came from, select the gold § tag to see it.

Money inCg 670.3MTaxes, licences, fees and other revenue
Money outCg 662.2MThe day-to-day running of government: salaries, subsidies, benefits, interest
Planned surplusCg 8.1MMoney in minus money out, on paper. A surplus on paper is not the same as cash in hand.

The arrows compare with the approved 2026 budget, worked out from the exact amounts, to the guilder, rather than the rounded ones.

Where the official documents disagree (20) →

Where it goes · 2027

Money in

Cg 670.3M

Where it goes

Cg 662.2M spent

Parliament & entities
Cg 29.0M
Left over
Cg 8.1M

Each stream is one ministry’s share of the money coming in. Select a ministry to open its page.

Read the whole draft See where your taxes go

Money in

Where the money comes from.

Of the Cg 670.3M the government expects, taxes bring in Cg 497M. The rest comes from licences & permits, fees & concessions and other revenue , including Cg 63M of project money from the Netherlands .

The largest taxes

Wage taxLoonbelastingCg 194M
Turnover taxBelasting bedrijfsomzettenCg 184M
Profit taxWinstbelastingCg 47M

Revenue by category · 2027

Hover or focus a category to pick it out of the ring.

Where the money goes

7 ministries, Cg 633.2M.

What each ministry is set to spend in the draft, how that compares with 2026, and how many of its approved posts are filled. Parliament, the High Councils of State and the special entities take the other Cg 29.0M.

ECYS20.1% of spending
Education, Culture, Youth & Sport
Cg 133.1M
Posts filled77%
283 of 366 posts
JUS17.2% of spending
Justice
Cg 113.8M
Posts filled54%
590 of 1,095 posts
VSOA15.7% of spending
Public Health, Social Development & Labour
Cg 103.7M
Posts filled74%
146 of 198 posts
AZ15.3% of spending
General Affairs
Cg 101.1M
Posts filled54%
236 of 439 posts
FIN14.8% of spending
Finance
Cg 97.9M
Posts filled63%
134 of 214 posts
TEATT6.6% of spending
Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic & Telecommunication
Cg 43.9M
Posts filled72%
169 of 234 posts
VROMI6.0% of spending
Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment & Infrastructure
Cg 39.8M
Posts filled73%
106 of 146 posts
All ministries, in depthPlans, programmes, staff and risks for each ministry.Open the ministries

The 2027 explorer

More ways into the draft.

Each page takes one question and answers it from the official documents, with the page tag beside every figure.

What changed since 2026
Every ministry and tax, side by side with last year.
The largest single change
General Affairs
What the watchdogs said
The Council of Advice and the Cft on this draft.
Advice in the file
- Council of Advice18 August 2026
- Board of Financial Supervision (Cft)9 July 2026
Every line
Search every line of the official numbers book.
In the numbers book
1,290 lines
Follow the money
Subsidies, rent, loans and guarantees, who gets paid.
From the annexes
Subsidies · Rent · Loans issued · Guarantees · Concessions · Service agreements
Cash & debt
The thin cash cushion, the loans and the health funds.
Interest on the debt · 2027
Cg 31M
Check the source
The receipts
Every figure checked, and what doesn't add up.
figures checked a second time against the page
1,630
transcription slips caught before publishing
179
notes on where the documents disagree or need context
20

Looking for last year? The 2026 budget explorer is kept unchanged in the archive.

Sources and publication notes

Priorities

What Viren is working on

Public finance

Accountability for the monetary union

Seeking clear answers on who carries the costs, obligations and assets if the monetary union changes.

Explore this priority Read the source

Economy

Bonds for better infrastructure

A financing vehicle letting local and foreign investors fund roads, schools and utilities, a response to the Moody's Ba2 downgrade.

Explore this priority Read the source

Value for money

Checking the cost of public projects

A unanimously approved motion to independently review the Met and Civil Aviation building costs and propose how any savings could be used.

Explore this priority Read the source

See what has been proposed and approved

Kingdom & regional work

Sint Maarten’s voice in the Kingdom

Kotai brings his focus on public finance to Sint Maarten’s work across the Kingdom, including the Governance & Finance group at the IPKO in The Hague.

Explore his Kingdom work

MP Viren V. Kotai speaking during a meeting

About

About Viren V. Kotai

MP Viren V. Kotai at a ceremonial gathering

Viren V. Kotai represents the Democratic Party in Sint Maarten’s Parliament. First sworn in in May 2024 and returned after the August election, his work focuses on public finance, infrastructure and accountability.

His record brings together financing proposals, parliamentary questions and decisions. The evidence distinguishes what has been proposed, approved and implemented.

Meet Viren and explore his record

Track record

21 May 2024Sworn in as MP for the Democratic Party.Source · Governor’s statement via Soualiga Newsday
Jun 2024Proposed the APS pension fund finance US$30M of new GEBE generators.Source · 721news
25 Jul 2024Launched the infrastructure-bonds proposal after Moody's Ba2 downgrade.Source · SMN-News
Jan 2025Parliament unanimously approved his motion requesting an independent cost review of the Met & Civil Aviation building.Source · The Daily Herald
Feb 2026Joined the Sint Maarten delegation to the IPKO in Aruba.Source · IPKO agreements via Kiko Ta Pasando
Mar–Apr 2026Questioned the CBCS, monetary-union restructuring and ENNIA obligations in Parliament.Source · StMaartenNews.com
Jun 2026Delegate to the IPKO in The Hague, Governance & Finance working group.Source · 721news
27 Aug 2026Parliament approved his two tourism amendments, redirecting existing allocations toward tourism development and Tourist Bureau initiatives.Source · The Peoples Tribune via SXM-Talks