Dominican Congress approves 2026 budget report without salary adjustment

Santo Domingo.- After five days of deliberation, a bicameral congressional commission approved the 2026 budget report Wednesday, omitting a long-standing provision for annual salary indexing, which critics argue undermines workers’ purchasing power. The tax code, unchanged since 1992, has required salaries to be adjusted for inflation, a measure repeatedly postponed each year, now once again deferred by the commission.

Francisco Javier Paulino, the commission’s president, confirmed that the existing budget bill includes an article pausing the mandatory discussion on salary indexing. Vice-Chair Senator Pedro Tineo added that no political faction formally introduced a motion on the issue during the meetings, resulting in the commission passing the report by majority vote. Despite vocal demands from the opposition in public statements, the topic was not discussed substantively among legislators.

Opposition lawmakers, including PLD deputy Charlie Mariotti, immediately protested, with Mariotti vowing to challenge the omission during the full chamber debates. He warned they could file a constitutional challenge against the budget law, alleging that excluding salary indexing violates workers’ rights and the established tax code. Meanwhile, Senator Edward Espiritusanto of Fuerza del Pueblo criticized the budget’s focus on current spending and labeled its investment component insufficient, promising his party will also oppose approval.

With the draft budget totaling RD$1.744 trillion, equivalent to about 20.1% of GDP, now headed to votes in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, the real test lies ahead. The exclusion of salary indexing may ignite a broader debate on economic fairness and legal compliance, potentially reshaping public trust in fiscal governance.