The national government’s budget deficit widened in May as the acceleration in public spending outpaced the increase in revenues.
According to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), the budget deficit reached P174.9 billion last month, up by 43.1 percent compared to the previous year’s level of P122.2 billion.
Expenditures jumped by 22.24 percent, much faster than the 14.59 percent increase in revenues.
Consequently, the cumulative budget deficit for the five-month period widened to P404.8 billion, which is 24.06 percent higher than the P326.3 billion recorded during the same period in 2023.
The national government disbursed a total of P557 billion in May, up from the P455.7 billion spent a year ago.
“The increase was driven largely by the implementation of capital outlay projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways, and the Department of National Defense, as well as the social and health programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Health, respectively,” the BTr said.
“The higher national tax allotment shares of local government units and increased budgetary support to government-owned and -controlled corporations also contributed to the notable growth of disbursements in May,” it added.
Year-to-date, national government expenditures reached P2.3 trillion, 17.65 percent faster than the 2023 comparable spending performance.
Meanwhile, the national government collected a total of P382.1 billion in revenue for May, higher than the P333.4 billion generated in the same period a year ago.
This pushed year-to-date collection to P1.9 trillion, outperforming the previous year’s out turn for the equivalent period by 16.34 percent.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) raised P219.2 billion, 2.79 percent up from last year due to higher tax collections on value added tax (VAT), taxes on net income and profit and miscellaneous tax, the BTr said.
Meanwhile, BIR’s uptake of P1.2 trillion for the five-month period also represented a 12.81 percent improvement over last year’s comparable collection on account of higher receipt from VAT, percentage tax, taxes on net income and profit and documentary stamp tax.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) collected a total of P81.3 billion for May, up by 4.33 percent year-on-year.
“The BOC’s improved revenue collection performance can be credited to the continued monitoring of the values and classifications of imported commodities, as well as intensified border control and improved trade facilitation,” the BTr said.
The agency’s cumulative collection from January to May 2024 has likewise grown by 6.01 percent year-on-year to P380.9 billion.
For May, BTr income swelled to P70.2 billion, more than twice the level posted a year ago due to higher collections from interest on advances from government-owned and -controlled corporations, guarantee fees and the national government’s share from the income of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
This pushed the BTr’s year-to-date income to P206.5 billion, outperforming last year’s level for the same period by more than twofold on account of higher dividend collections and interest on advances.
