Recto: Government achieves half of full-year revenue target by June
The Department of Finance (DOF) announced that government revenues have already achieved half of the target for the year in the first semester, indicating a promising outlook for meeting the full-year goal.
Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said that a total of P2.13 trillion in revenues was collected from January to June, a 15 percent increase over the P1.86 trillion collected in the same period last year.
“With 50 percent of the revenue target already achieved in the first semester, we are on track to reach the P4.27 trillion revenue program for 2024,” Recto said.
Of this total, tax revenues contributed P1.81 trillion, wherein the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs collected P1.34 trillion and P454.1 billion, respectively.
On the other hand, non-tax revenues improved by 65 percent during the first six-month period, generating P316.52 billion.
According to the DBCC program, the government aimed to collect P2.077 trillion in revenue in the first half of the year. With P2.13 trillion collected by the end of June, this achievement represents nearly 50 percent of the annual target.
The finance chief said they expect a 10.3 percent average annual growth in total revenues over the medium term, growing by 4.27 trillion this year to 6.25 trillion by 2028.
Meanwhile, tax collections are projected to increase by an average of 11.8 percent annually, which Recto said “is faster than the 8.8 percent projected growth of our nominal GDP [gross domestic product].”
“In fact, for 2025, we expect double-digit collection growth from the BIR and BOC as we enhance their administrative efficiency through digitalization and plug leakages in the tax system, especially from e-commerce,” he added.
Refined revenue reforms that are currently awaiting congressional approval are also expected to add an average P42 billion each year from P28.38 billion by 2024 to P41.89 billion by 2028, the finance chief stated.
For non-tax revenues, the government is targeting to raise P100 billion from government-owned and controlled corporations and another P42 billion from the privatization of government assets.
"Along with preventing wasteful expenditures, these strategies will help keep the deficit in check and reduce sustainably to only 3.7 percent in 2028," Recto said.