Budget deficit at P1.51T

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The Bureau of the  Treasury (BTr) said  the government’s budget deficit last year hit P1.51 trillion, down 6.32 percent from the prior year.

The figure, however, is  0.85 percent higher than the government’s target of P1.5 trillion.

The deficit is equivalent to 6.2 percent of the country’s GDP, slightly higher than the government target of 6.1 percent  but is significantly below the 7.3 percent deficit-to-GDP ratio of 2022, indicating progress of fiscal consolidation, the BTr stressed.

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“The narrower fiscal gap for the year was attributed to the 7.86 percent increase in revenue collection, surpassing the 3.42 percent growth in government spending,” it said.

In December, the deficit was recorded at P401 billion, up 5.97 percent from the prior year, attributed to the 2.24 percent acceleration in expenditures alongside a 3.03 percent decline in revenue collections.

The BTr said revenue effort last year dipped to 15.7 percent from 16.1 percent last year but was better than the 15.2 percent program. Tax effort also dropped to 14.1 percent from 14.6 percent a year ago and was below the 14.4 percent target.

In 2023, the government realized a revenue of P3.82 trillion, up 7.86 percent, driven by improvements in both tax and non-tax revenue. The revenue is likewise up 2.55 percent higher than the government’s target of P3.73 trillion as non-tax collections increased.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue  collected P2.52 trillion for the year, up 7.76 percent from the previous year’s P2.34 trillion but 4.63 percent short of the P2.64 trillion target.

The Bureau of Customs  collected P883.2 billion (net of P4.2 billion tax refund), up 2.41 percent from the prior year’s P862.4 billion. The BOC likewise exceeded its P874.2 billion target by 1.04 percent.

The BTr generated P227.6 billion in revenues, up 47.09 percent from last year’s P154.8 billion.

Government spending for the year was at P5.336 trillion, 3.42 percent higher than the prior year, and is 2.06 percent above the P5.228 trillion program.

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