BORROWINGS under the Marcos administration are expected to peak by 2025 or 2026 as the government raises its revenue through new tax measures in the coming years, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
“The [borrowing] will peak by 2025 to 2026 depending on the collection and expenditure,” DBM principal economist and Adviser to the Budget Policy and Strategy Group Joselito R. Basilio said in an interview with reporters in Malacañang on Thursday.
He noted this was in line with the downward trend in the country’s budget deficit of the government’s 2022-2028 Medium-Term Fiscal Program (MTFP) due to the expected increase in government revenues.
Under the latest MTFP, the 6.1-percent budget deficit this year is expected to slow down initially to 5.1 percent next year and then eventually to 3 percent in 2028.
DBM said the projected additional revenues next year from non-tax measures and tax measures will reach P4.27 trillion next year—14.56 percent higher than this year’s P3.729-trillion target.
The non-tax measures include the privatization of government assets, which is expected to generate P196 billion.
The bulk or P4.07 trillion of the revenues for 2024, however, are expected to come from existing and new tax measures.
The pending tax-related pieces of legislation include the Value Added Tax on Digital Services, Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation (Pifita), excise tax on single-use plastics, excise tax on premixed alcoholic beverages, excise tax on sweetened beverages and junk food, and new mining fiscal regime.
“Most of the [tax] measures are already in the advance stage…During the Ledac [Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council] last month it was also discussed and the Senate and the House [of Representatives] have committed to pass the legislations,” DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said.
Pangandaman added she is confident Congress will not pass any new law, which will reduce government revenues.
“During our Ledac, when talking about the top measures that the Congress should pass, there was no mention of other revenue-eroding measures,” the DBM chief said.
DBM said it will resort to more borrowings to fill up the gaps left by the said tax and non-tax measures in the P5.768 trillion 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP).