THE Philippines’s budget deficit last year fell by 6.32 percent to P1.512 trillion, lower than the P1.614 trillion recorded in 2022.
Official government data indicated that the 2023 budget deficit stood at 6.2 percent of GDP, lower than the 7.3 percent deficit-to-GDP ratio recorded in 2022.
According to a report from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) released on Thursday, the budget deficit was slightly wider than the P1.499 trillion program by 0.85 percent or P12.7 billion.
“The narrower fiscal gap for the year was attributed to the 7.86-percent increase in revenue collection, surpassing the 3.42 percent growth in government spending,” the Treasury said in a statement.
Total revenues collected by the national government rose to P3.8 trillion last year, up by 7.86 percent or P278.6 billion recorded in 2022, based on Treasury data.
The data also showed that the national government surpassed its programmed revenue collection for 2023 pegged at P3.729 trillion, driven primarily by overperformance of non-tax collections, the BTr said.
“Broken down, 89.68 percent or P3.429 trillion was taxes which grew by 6.49 percent [year-on-year],” the Treasury added.
Non-tax sources accounting for the remaining balance of 10.32 percent or P394.8 billion similarly topped the previous year’s outcome and represented more than double the program for the year, according to the Treasury.
The Treasury said the national government’s revenue effort for 2023, which measures the total collections against the country’s GDP, dipped to 15.7 percent from 16.1 percent in 2022 but surpassed the 15.2 percent program for 2023.
The national government’s tax efforts also dropped to 14.1 percent from 14.6 percent a year ago and were below the 14.4 percent target.
Collections by the Bureau of Internal Revenues in 2023 rose by 7.76 percent year-on-year to P2.517 trillion but fell short of the P2.639 trillion target set by the national government of the bureau last year.
Tax revenues attributed to the Bureau of Customs grew 2.41 percent on an annual basis to P883.2 billion from P862.4 billion, according to the Treasury.
“BOC’s strong performance may be attributed to its enhanced revenue collection efforts, intensified anti-smuggling measures as well as digitalization projects for trade facilitation,” the Treasury explained.
The Treasury said the income it collected and generated surged P227.6 billion last year, 47.09 percent higher than its 2022 revenue performance of P154.8 billion.
The Treasury said it also outperformed its P58.3-billion full-year income target for 2023, crediting the higher remittances of dividends from GOCCs, income from investments, and interest on NG deposits, and the government’s share in Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation’s (Pagcor) profit.
Meanwhile, the national government’s total expenditures last year expanded to P5.336 trillion, P176.6 billion higher than the P5.159 trillion recorded in 2022. It is also above the P5.228-trillion program for 2023.
The Treasury also cited higher primary expenditures which increased by 1.10 percent to P4.708 trillion from 2022’s P4.657 trillion, and was 1.95 percent above the target of P4.618 trillion.
“The lower National Tax Allotment shares of Local Government Units for 2023 weighed down on the overall growth of spending. Nonetheless, other productive expenditures, particularly infrastructure and other capital outlays, as well as personnel services expenses, helped buoy government disbursements in 2023,” the Treasury added.
Lastly, interest payments (IP) last year reached P628.3 billion, up by 24.95 percent or P125.5 billion. The Treasury said this was caused by the tightening of global funding conditions and the impact of higher borrowing to provide stimulus during the pandemic.