Budget deficit declines in June

Bureau of the Treasury

MANILA – The national government’s budget deficit went down to P209.1 billion in June from P225.4 billion a year ago as revenue collection grew faster than government expenditures.

The Bureau of the Treasury’s (BTr) cash operations report released on Wednesday showed that revenues during the month amounted to P296.5 billion, higher by 10.93 percent than last year’s P267.3 billion.

Data showed that the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s collection amounted to P172.5 billion, up by 4.71 percent year-on-year, while collections by the Bureau of Customs slightly increased by 0.67 percent to P74.6 billion.

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The BTr brought in P7.4 billion in June, declining by 30.99 percent from the 2023 comparable collection due to lower dividend remittance and income from BTr managed funds.

June collections from other offices, which include other non-tax, including privatization proceeds and fees and charges, surged to P39.8 billion, more than twice the level registered a year ago.

Government expenditures, meanwhile, amounted to P505.6 billion, outperforming the previous year’s P492.7 billion actual expenditures by 2.62 percent.

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“The increase was mostly attributed to the implementation of capital outlay projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways, and the Department of National Defense under its Revised AFP Modernization Program, the preparatory activities of the Commission on Elections for the 2025 National and Local Elections, and the higher National Tax Allotment shares of LGUs,” said the BTr.

“The growth of June spending was, however, tempered by lower subsidy releases and net lending assistance to (GOCC) government-owned and controlled corporations,” it added.

For the first half of the year, the budget gap widened to P613.9 billion, 11.27 percent higher than last year but 7.24 percent below the P661.8 billion midyear program due to the better-than-programmed revenues.

Total revenue collections as of end-June reached P2.15 trillion, up by 15.56 percent from last year, while expenditures reached P2.76 trillion, also higher by 14.58 percent and outpacing the P2.74 trillion midyear program by 0.90 percent.