THE national government’s budget deficit through November declined by 7.2 percent on an annual basis to P1.236 trillion as government revenues continue to rise by double-digit growth rates.
Latest figures released by the Department of Finance (DOF) showed that the country’s budget deficit from January to November was P96.3 billion lower than the P1.332 trillion recorded a year ago.
The national government’s total revenues during the 11-month period rose by 18.13 percent to P3.277 trillion from last year’s P2.774 trillion. The increase in revenues was driven by the higher tax and non-tax collections during the reference period.
The national government’s tax revenues grew by 17.48 percent year-on-year to P2.959 trillion while non-tax income rose by a fifth on an annual basis to P317.7 billion.
Revenue collections by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) increased by an annualized rate of 12.56 percent P21.56 billion, while collections by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) expanded by 35.31 percent to P789.2 billion.
Non-tax revenues attributed to the Bureau of the Treasury rose by 22.9 percent to P148.2 billion from P120.6 billion last year.
The national government’s total expenditures during the 11-month period rose by nearly 10 percent to P4.513 trillion from last year’s P4.106 trillion.
In the month of November alone, the national government trimmed its budget deficit by 3.71 percent on an annual basis to P123.9 billion. The amount was P4.8 billion lower than the P128.7 billion budget deficit recorded in November 2021.
The increase in the national government’s revenues in November outpaced the rise in its expenditures. Total revenues collected by the national government last month rose by 16.57 percent to P331.1 billion from last year’s P284 billion.
Meanwhile, the national government’s expenditures in November rose by 10.24 percent to P455 billion from P412.7 billion during the same month last year.
The BIR’s revenues in November rose by 12.53 percent year-on-year to P237.1 billion while collections by the BOC expanded by 30.74 percent to P75.7 billion.