Tax surge lifts revenues, spending grows in 1st half of 2025

Government revenues continued to climb in June 2025, driven by double-digit growth in tax collections, while public spending also rose to support economic activity, data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.

Revenue collections in June hit ₱306.9 billion, up 3.5 percent from ₱296.5 billion in the same month last year. Tax collections rose by 12.35 percent to ₱280.1 billion, with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) leading the way after collecting ₱200.5 billion—an increase of 16.24 percent. The Bureau of Customs (BOC) also contributed ₱77 billion, up 3.23 percent.

Non-tax revenues fell to ₱26.8 billion due to last year’s one-time remittances. However, BTr income more than doubled to ₱16.1 billion, buoyed by higher government shares in PAGCOR and PSALM profits.

On the spending side, disbursements in June totaled ₱548.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.49 percent. This was fueled by higher National Tax Allotments for local governments, funding for BARMM, personnel expenses, and interest payments.

From January to June, revenues reached ₱2.260 trillion, up 5.15 percent. Tax collections accounted for ₱2.033 trillion, a 10.74 percent jump. The BIR collected ₱1.554 trillion, boosted by income, value-added, and excise taxes, including those from electronic cigarettes.

BOC’s collections during the same period reached ₱458.8 billion, up slightly by 0.71 percent. Non-tax revenues totaled ₱227.7 billion, exceeding targets due to strong BTr income of ₱145.3 billion—already 54.81 percent higher than the annual program.

Spending in the first half hit ₱3.026 trillion, up 9.49 percent, and remained within the ₱3.041 trillion program. Despite the ramped-up spending, the budget deficit stood at ₱765.5 billion, only 0.63 percent above target.