THE state’s budget deficit in August widened by 84.63 percent to P133 billion from P72 billion as national government spending gained some ground, outpacing revenue collections that declined on an annual basis.
The revenues collected by the national government in August declined by 6.58 percent to P310.6 billion from P332.4 billion in the same month last year as both tax and non-tax revenues dropped year-on-year, according to latest data released by the Department of Finance (DOF).
DOF data showed the state’s tax collections during the reference month fell by 5.82 percent to P291.7 billion from P309.7 billion as earnings posted by the Internal Revenue and Customs bureaus declined.
Earnings attributed to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) was estimated at P213.5 billion, P15.4 billion lower than the P228.9 billion recorded in August of last year.
Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno attributed the drop in BIR collections to the wider income tax exemption this year and the transition of value-added tax (VAT) filings to quarterly from a monthly basis.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Collections (BOC) saw a 4.92-percent cut in its collections in August that settled at P213.5 billion from last year’s P228.9 billion.
Diokno explained that the drop in the country’s oil imports coupled with lower world oil prices caused the drop in BOC collections. Furthermore, he noted, the work suspensions due to inclement weather affected the BOC’s collection operations.
Non-tax revenues of the government, meanwhile, declined by 17.05 percent as collections by other offices fell by about 29 percent. Non-tax revenues in August were at P18.8 billion compared to the P22.7 billion registered in the same month last year.
The state’s spending in August grew by almost 10 percent as it reached P443.6 billion from last year’s P404.5 billion, based on DOF data.
Both the national government’s interest payments and other expenses grew on an annual basis in August.
The state’s interest payments rose by 38.65 percent year-on-year to P42.7 billion while other expenses posted a 27.2-percent increase, reaching P400.9 billion.
The national government’s year-to-date budget deficit reached P732.5 billion, 12.06 percent lower than the P833 billion recorded in the January-to-August period of last year.
During the eight-month period, the state’s revenue collection grew at a faster rate than the increase in its total expenditures.
The state earned P2.582 trillion, about 9.03 percent higher than the P2.368 trillion recorded last year while its expenditures rose by 3.54 percent to P3.314 trillion compared to last year’s P3.201 trillion.
DOF data showed that the state’s tax and non-tax revenues from January to August rose on an annual basis.
Tax revenues during the eight-month period increased by 8.15 percent to P2.307 trillion from P2.134 trillion while non-tax revenues expanded by 17.06 percent to P274.6 billion from P234.6 billion.
The state’s year-to-date budget deficit is now about 66 percent of its P1.106 trillion programmed deficit for the January-to-September period.
The state’s January-to-August budget deficit is just about 48.85 percent of its full-year 2023 programmed budget deficit of nearly P1.5 trillion.
The national government has been behind its programmed budget deficit due to slow spending by certain government agencies.
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