The national government’s budget deficit narrowed in August as government spending inched down year-on-year.
According to the Bureau of the Treasury’s (BTr) latest cash operations report released yesterday, the national government incurred a P54.2 billion budget deficit in August 2024, lower by 59.24 percent or P78.8 billion compared with the P133 billion shortfall incurred a year ago.
The government saw a lower budget deficit for the month amid the 24.4 percent growth in government revenues, while expenditures saw a 0.68 percent contraction.
This trimmed the year-to-date budget deficit of P697 billion by 4.86 percent from the P732.5 billion budget gap in the previous year, equivalent to 46.95 percent of the P1.5 trillion full-year program for 2024.
The national government disbursed P440.5 billion in August 2024, reflecting a decline of P3 billion from last year’s P443.6 billion.
The BTr said this can be partly attributed to the lower total subsidy releases to government corporations, and the sizeable outstanding checks recorded in various departments, such as the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Health, during the period.
Outstanding checks represent payments made by line departments for the delivery of goods/services but are not yet presented for encashment at the banks by the concerned contractors or payees.
These remain under the accounts of spending agencies in authorized government depository banks and are not yet considered as actual disbursements.
The cumulative disbursement rose to P3.7 trillion, 11.32 percent higher year-on-year, attaining 64.13 percent of the P5.8 trillion full-year 2024 program.
Meanwhile, total revenue collections grew by P75.8 billion to P386.3 billion in August 2024 from P310.6 billion a year ago, driven by strong non-tax collections.
The resulting P3 trillion year-to-date collection similarly topped the previous year’s outcome by 15.91 percent and is already 70.1 percent of the P4.3 trillion full-year program for 2024.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected P238.1 billion in August, which was 11.51 percent above last year’s comparable outturn.
This pushed the agency’s cumulative collection to P1.9 trillion, outperforming the P1.7 trillion collection logged in the same period a year ago by 12.55 percent.
The Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) collections amounted to P78.5 billion for the month, underscoring a 4.69 percent growth over the P75 billion raised a year ago.
This drove the BOCs’ 2024 cumulative collections to P614.4 billion, 5.66 percent higher than its January to August 2023 performance.
Non-tax revenues in August reached P66.1 billion, more than thrice last year’s outturn of P18.8 billion, pushing the year-to-date collections to P434.9 billion, equivalent to 96.73 percent of the full-year program of P449.6 billion.
Income collected and generated by the BTr rose to P16.5 billion in August, more than twice its collections in the same period a year ago.
The increase was primarily driven by Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management’s P10 billion settlement of guarantee fee arrears, alongside increased Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. income.
Compared with January to August 2023’s actual collections of P150.1 billion, BTr’s year-to-date income for the current year has similarly improved by 33.46 percent to P200.3 billion.
Collections of other offices, such as other non-tax, including privatization proceeds, fees and charges and grants, in August surged to P49.6 billion, nearly quadrupling last year’s outturn.
This improved the January to August revenue to P234.6 billion, posting an increase of 89.16 percent compared with the same period in the previous year.
