Budget deficit decreases by 1.35% in first 9 months of 2024

The national government’s budget deficit has decreased during the first nine months of the year, according to the latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

In a cash operations report released on Thursday, the BTr revealed that the budget deficit narrowed by 1.35% to P970.2 billion, down from P983.5 billion for the same period last year. A budget deficit occurs when government spending surpasses its revenues.

The BTr noted that the total deficit for the first three quarters was 9.08% lower than the P1.1 trillion target for the nine-month period and accounted for 65.36% of the revised full-year program of P1.5 trillion.

Total revenue collections increased to PHP3.3 trillion, representing a 16.04% rise compared to P2.8 trillion collected during the same period in 2023. This collection was also P142.8 billion above the January to September revenue program.

Of the total revenue, approximately 85.39% (P2.8 trillion) came from taxes collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Bureau of Customs (BOC), and other agencies, marking a 10.62% increase year-on-year. The remaining 14.61% (P481.1 billion) came from non-tax revenues, which surged by 62.54%.

Government spending reached P4.3 trillion, an increase of 11.56%, which exceeded the nine-month spending target of P4.2 trillion by P46 billion.

In September alone, the budget deficit increased by 8.9% to P273.3 billion compared to P250.9 billion in the same month last year.

Revenue for September was P299.7 billion, a 17.32% improvement over the previous year’s figures. BIR collections for the month rose to P174.7 billion, up 14.79% from last year, largely due to increased personal income tax collections, particularly from withholding taxes linked to salary adjustments for civilian government personnel as mandated by Executive Order No. 64, series of 2024. Documentary stamp tax collections also saw an increase.

However, BOC collections fell by 3.31% to P76.3 billion in September, attributed to a decline in import duties resulting from tariff reductions on certain goods and an alarming rise in smuggling activities, with seizures surpassing last year’s total.

In terms of expenditures, September spending grew by 13.15% to P572.9 billion, up from P506.3 billion in the previous year. The BTr indicated that this increase was driven by non-interest expenses, particularly for capital projects initiated by the Department of Public Works and Highways, increased personnel service costs due to salary adjustments for eligible government employees, and payments related to health emergency allowances for healthcare workers.

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