Department of Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said that revenues during the first four months may hit around P1.4 trillion, which makes about 32 percent of the P4.3 trillion target this year.

This translates to a 7 percent increase from the P1.3 trillion collected in the same period last year.

“My calculation is nasa P1.4 trillion na. Kung 4 months yan, if everything follows, P1.4 trillion times 3 is P4.2 trillion. So medyo hitting the target, pero first 4 months pa lang. Let's see if it's sustainable for 8 more months,” Recto told reporters on the sidelines of 2024 Government-Owned- or Controlled Corporations Day.

To date, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has collected P912.9 billion this year, which is a 16 percent increase compared to last year while the Bureau of Customs (BOC) also improved its collection performance to reach almost P300 billion.

Meanwhile, non-tax revenues already reached 206.4 billion pesos, up by 85 percent compared to the same period a year ago.

Recto also maintained that there will still be a budget deficit in April, despite the massive collection of revenues due to the income tax return deadline, as spending would mainly go to infrastructure projects.

“We want the government to spend also. We want to grow the economy. Whatever is planned, if our revenue target, we plan to grow it by roughly 14 percent. And if spending should grow by 10-12%, basta on target lahat,” he added.

A budget deficit happens when a government spends more than it collects in tax revenues. In contrast, if there is more collected than spent, there is a surplus.

Meanwhile, Recto said that it will meet with both the BIR and BOC to discuss the strengthening of collection of the taxes paid from e-commerce instructions.

The Marcos administration's budget deficit shrank in March this year to P195.9 billion, down from P210.3 billion in March 2023, as revenue growth outpaced public spending.