The Department of Finance (DOF) is upbeat on its expectation that the government’s total revenue collection for 2024 will reach P4.42 trillion by the end of the year, exceeding the full-year target of P4.27 trillion.
In a Dec. 16 statement, the DOF stated its anticipation that emerging revenues will reach 16.7 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), the highest level in 27 years, since 1997.
According to DOF, the agency secured additional resources to fund this year’s national budget without introducing new taxes, through more aggressive privatization of public assets, increasing government-owned and controlled corporations’ (GOCCs) dividend contributions from 50 percent to 75 percent, and utilizing idle or excess funds from GOCCs.
It noted that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) also enhanced their revenue administration by simplifying tax payments and speeding up their digitalization efforts.
From January to October, the DOF has so far collected P3.77 trillion in total revenues, marking a 16.8 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Specifically, tax collections increased by 11.4 percent to P3.23 trillion for the first ten months, while non-tax revenues jumped by more than half (64.9 percent), reaching P539.40 billion.
As a result, the revenue for the first nine months of the year increased to 17.5 percent of GDP, compared to 16.4 percent in the same period in 2023.
The DOF likewise noted that the fiscal deficit for the first three quarters of the year is 5.1 percent of GDP, an improvement from 5.7 percent in the same period last year.
It added that as of the third quarter of 2024, the country’s debt remains “manageable.”
However, data from the latest Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) report revealed that the government's debt-to-GDP ratio rose to 61.3 percent as of end-September, up from 60.2 percent a year earlier, 60.9 percent a quarter ago, and 60.1 percent at the end of 2023.
By the end of the first three quarters, the government’s outstanding debt reached a record P15.89 trillion, marking an 11.4 percent year-on-year increase, more than double the GDP growth during the same period.