THE national government has reported an P86.4-billion deficit for the month of July, with both expenditures and revenues posting double-digit growth for the month, data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.
The July deficit is bigger by 71 percent than last year’s P50.5 billion for the same month. It pushes the January to July 2018 deficit to P279.4 billion, up by 36 percent, from the P205 billion recorded in the same period for 2017.
Revenues for the month grew by 24 percent to reach P241.7 billion, coming from theP194.6 billion last year.
Broken down, tax revenues accounted for P217.8 billion, and nontax revenues, P23.9 billion.
The July 2018 tax revenues from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) reached P164 billion for the month, higher by 19 percent from the P138.1 billion recorded in the same month for 2017.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) contributed P52.1 billion to the total tax revenues collected by the government, also expanding—by 49 percent—from last year’s P35 billion.
“Strong enforcement and revenue enhancement measures, coupled with the weaker peso and higher oil prices, allowed the bureau to sustain its strong year-on-year growth for the seventh consecutive month of the year,” the BTr said.
Other offices contributed P1.7 billion to the total revenues, which saw a 6-percent increase from the P1.6 billion collected last year.
Under nontax revenues, the BTr posted a 39-percent growth with P11.8 billion for the month, coming from P8.5 billion last year. Other offices also posted a P12.2-billion collection, reporting an uptick of 6 percent compared to the P11.5 billion collected last year.
Total revenues from January to July this year hit P1.652 trillion, increasing by 21 percent, compared to the P1.371 trillion made in the same period last year.
Expenditures for the month reached P328.1 billion, or 34 percent higher than the P245.1 billion last year. This pushed total expenditures for the seven-month period to P1.931 trillion, rising by 23 percent from the P1.576 trillion in disbursements made in the same period in 2017.
“This already represents 57 percent of the P3.367-trillion full year NG expenditure program,” the BTr said.
Interest payments amounted to P44.8 billion for July, almost unmoved coming from P44.6 billion in the same month last year. The government’s interest payments for the first seven months of 2018 reached P210.4 billion, increasing by 7 percent from the P196.2 billion reported in the same period last year.
The government’s primary deficit for the month reached P41.5 billion, rising by 606 percent, coming from only a P5.9-billion deficit in July 2017. From January to July, the government’s primary deficit reached P69 billion, rising by 687 percent compared to the P8.8-billion deficit recorded in the same seven-month period in 2017.