MANILA – The national government's budget deficit declined by 65.2 percent in October this year due to higher revenue collections, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said Wednesday.
The government incurs a budget deficit when spending exceeds its revenues.
"The National Government’s fiscal performance in October 2023 marked a substantial improvement, with the budget deficit declining by 65.27 percent (PHP64.7 billion) from the previous year to PHP34.4 billion. This was underscored by a notable 33.56 percent rise in revenue collections outpacing government expenditure growth of 8.32 percent," the BTr said in a report.
Revenues during the month reached PHP385.8 billion, up by 33.56 percent from last year's PHP288.9 billion.
Collections from January to October amounted to PHP3.2 trillion, also higher by 9.4 percent than the PHP2.9 trillion in the same period last year.
Of the total amount, PHP2.896 trillion was generated through taxes while the remaining PHP327.6 billion came from non-tax sources.
Expenditures for October meanwhile went up by 8.32 percent to PHP420.2 billion.
"The expansion was mainly attributed to higher capital expenditures from the implementation of road infrastructure projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways, modernization program of the Department of National Defense, and foreign-assisted rail transport projects of the Department of Transportation," the BTr noted.
"Larger interest payments, as well as maintenance and other operating expenses, particularly the expenditures of the Commission on Elections related to the conduct of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, also contributed to the higher spending outturn. However, the growth of disbursements was weighed down by the lower National Tax Allotment shares of local government units and the timing of subsidy releases to government corporations," it added.
For January to October this year, spending amounted to PHP4.24 trillion, up by 4.52 percent from last year and equivalent to 81.12 percent of the PHP5.228 trillion of the 2023 program. (PNA)
