The national government’s budget deficit significantly narrowed in August this year due to robust collections of its two main tax agencies, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.
The Marcos administration incurred a P72 billion fiscal gap during the month, down 40 percent from P120.9 billion in August last year, the treasury bureau reported on Friday, Sept. 30.
Based on the treasury data, the substantial decline in budget deficit was driven the 28 percent growth in revenues, particularly the improved collections of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs.
In August, total revenues amounted to P332.4 billion, an increase from P259.3 billion.
Of that amount, the BIR, which contributes about two-thirds to government coffers, raised P228.9 billion, higher by 23 percent compared with P242.4 billion in the same month in 2022.
According to the Treasury, BIR’s tax haul was its highest monthly nominal growth for the first eight months of the year.
Meanwhile, the Customs bureau raised P78.9 billion in August, an increase of 48 percent from P53.4 billion a year earlier.
Other factor that brought down the government’s budget deficit was the slower public spending during the month, the treasury bureau said.
Government expenditures rose by only 6.4 percent during the month to P404.5 billion from P380.2 billion a year ago.
In the first eight-months of 2022, the government’s budget deficit amounted to P883 billion, 13 percent lower than the P958.2 billion in the same period last year.
At end-August, revenue grew 18 percent to P2.368 trillion from P2.006 trillion a year ago. Of that mount, tax collectors reached P2.131 trillion, while non-tax income amounted to P237.9 billion.
The BIR and Customs bureau collections from January to August hit P1.559 trillion and P559.2 billion.
Meanwhile, the seven-eight expenditures of the national government amounted to P3.201 trillion, an improvement of only eight percent compared with P2.963 trillion in the same period last year.
The government registered a primary deficit of P492.9 billion from January to August, a decline of 26 percent from P666.7 billion.