The national government posted a P6.3 billion fiscal surplus in October as the growth in revenues significantly outpaced that of expenditures.
According to a report released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), the surplus in October is a reversal of the P34.4 billion deficit recorded a year ago.
Revenue collections accelerated in October with double-digit growth of 22.63 percent, outpacing the 11.08 percent year-on-year increase in expenditures.
Year-to-date deficit narrowed to P963.9 billion, which stands at only 64.94 percent of the P1.48 trillion full-year program.
Revenue collections in October amounted to P473.1 billion, reflecting a 22.63 percent increase compared to the same period last year, driven by robust growth in both tax and non-tax collections, the BTr said.
The P3.8-trillion cumulative revenues for the 10-month period have surpassed last year’s performance by 16.83 percent and represent 88.2 percent of the P4.27 trillion revised full-year program.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) collections for October reached P325.5 billion, attaining an 18.62 percent growth over the same period last year.
The BTr said the double-digit growth in October can be attributed to higher collections on value-added tax (VAT), personal income tax (PIT), documentary stamp tax (DST) corporate income tax (CIT), excise tax on tobacco products and percentage taxes.
The higher VAT collection for the month accounts for the third quarter collection.
As a result, the bureau’s overall collections from January to October rose to P2.4 trillion, 13.49 percent higher than last year’s P2.1 trillion.
These collections account for 84.95 percent of the P2.85 trillion revised full-year program.
The 10-month year-on-year growth is attributed to higher VAT, as a total of 12 months’ worth of VAT was already collected with the change of filing schedule from monthly to quarterly.
The other sources of higher BIR collection are PIT, CIT, combined taxes on bank deposits and government securities, DST and percentage taxes.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) achieved an 11.5 percent annual increase for the month, with collections totaling P86.9 billion.
The BTr said the performance marks a recovery from a dip in
the previous month, driven by the agency’s rigorous verification of imported goods values and classifications, along with the stringent implementation of the fuel marking initiative.
This tax administration effort of the bureau transmitted to higher duty, excise, and VAT collections with growth rates of 28.3 percent, 13.5 percent, and 6.5 percent, respectively.
This brought the agency’s cumulative revenues to P777.6 billion, 5.32 percent higher than the January to October 2023 collections, and achieved 82.75 percent of the P939.7 billion revised 2024 program.
Non-tax revenues in October rose to P58.3 billion, reflecting robust year-on-year growth of 87.65 percent primarily due to collections from other offices.
This pushed the cumulative non-tax revenues to P539.4 billion, 64.93 percent higher than the January to October 2023 level and 19.96 percent above the revised full-year 2024 target of P449.6 billion.
Meanwhile, income collected and generated by the BTr moderated to P14.5 billion in October, down by 13.5 percent from the P16.8 billion last year due to lower income realized from investments.
The BTr’s cumulative revenues as of October increased by 28.56 percent to P224.7 billion, behind higher dividend remittances, interest on advances from government-owned and -controlled corporations, guarantee fees and national government share from Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. income.
To date, the BTr’s income has already surpassed the revised full-year program of P187 billion by 20.18 percent.
Revenues from other offices surged to P43.7 billion in October, up from P14.3 billion last year.
Cumulative revenues from January to October amounted to P314.6 billion, more than doubling last year’s total of P152.2 billion and far exceeding the adjusted full-year target by 19.8 percent.
Expenditures in October totaled to P466.8 billion, reflecting an 11.08 percent increase over the P420.2 billion spent in the same month last year.
The BTr said this was mainly attributed to higher personnel services expenses due to the first tranche of the salary adjustments of qualified civilian government employees and the release of 2022 Performance-Based Bonus of the Department of Education.
Spending was likewise bolstered by the implementation of infrastructure projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways and foreign-assisted rail projects of the Department of Transportation, as well as the social protection and health programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Department of Health, respectively.
Year-to-date disbursements reached P4.73 trillion, an 11.52 percent increase from the previous year’s level, and equivalent to 82.2 percent of the P5.75 trillion revised full-year target.
