Budget deficit shrinks to P18.9B in July

THE NATIONAL Government's (NG) budget deficit sharply narrowed in July amid the sluggish pace of revenue collection and spending, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said on Thursday.

- By Aubrey Rose A. Inosante Reporter

Data from the BTr showed that the budget gap shrank by 34.42% to P18.9 billion in July from P28.8 billion in the same month a year ago.

Month on month, the fiscal gap plunged by 92.17% from the P241.6-billion deficit in June.

In July, revenues went up by 3.26% to P472.3 billion from P457.4 billion in the same month last year, as higher tax collections offset the decline in nontax revenues.

Tax revenues, which made up the bulk of revenue collections, jumped by 5.01% to P423 billion in July from P402.8 billion in the same month in 2024.

Collections by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) rose by 4.83% to P335.3 billion in July from P319.8 billion a year ago. This included a P3.8-billion tax refund.

“The BIR sustained its strong performance due to higher revenues from corporate income tax. This was followed by personal income tax, tax on government securities, excise tax on tobacco products, percentage tax on banks and financial institutions, and documentary stamp tax,” the BTr said.

Collections by the Bureau of Customs (BoC) increased by 6% to P85.2 billion, net of a P256-million tax refund, while other offices’ revenues fell by 3.47% to P2.6 billion.

The BTr attributed the higher Customs revenue to the 12.69% year on year increase in excise tax collections, as well as the 6.13% rise in value-added tax collections.