December 27, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The government posted a wider budget deficit of P213 billion in November as revenue collections went down while state spending surged by double digits, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).
The latest budget shortfall more than doubled the P93.3 billion deficit recorded in the same month last year.
This developed as total revenue collection in November inched down by 0.6 percent to P338.3 billion from P340.4 billion a year ago.
“This was primarily due to lower non-tax collections as the previous year’s level included a P23.8-billion remittance of additional dividends from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas,” the BTr said.
On the other hand, government spending during the month rose by 27 percent to P551.3 billion in November from P433.6 billion a year ago amid higher capital expenditures for road and defense infrastructure projects, social protection and education-related programs as well as personnel services requirements.
For the 11-month period, the budget deficit went up by 5.9 percent to P1.18 trillion from P1.11 trillion as revenues picked up faster than state spending.
Year-to-date, cumulative revenue collections rose by 15.2 percent to reach P4.1 trillion while disbursements grew by 13 percent to P5.28 trillion from January to November.
A wider budget deficit occurs when public spending grows faster than the revenue generated through taxes and other sources. It typically indicates that the government is spending more than it earns, requiring borrowing to cover the shortfall.
In November, the bulk or 95.3 percent of revenues came from tax collections at P322.4 billion, up by 12.7 percent from a year ago. Non-tax collections, on the other hand, dropped by 70.7 percent to P15.9 billion in November.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue’s haul jumped by 17.8 percent to P247.6 billion in November amid the double-digit growth in collections from income taxes, value-added tax (VAT), excise taxes and documentary stamp tax.
The Bureau of Customs saw its collections go down by 1.7 percent to P72.4 billion, while collections from other offices increased by 10.4 percent to P2.4 billion.
During the month in review, income generated by the Treasury contracted by 80.9 percent to P7.9 billion from P41.5 billion previously.
Non-tax revenues from other offices including privatization proceeds and fees and charges for the month also decreased by 37.8 percent to P8 billion.
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