THE country’s budget deficit for the first three months of this year dropped by 14.51 percent compared to the same period last year on the back of increased revenue collections during the quarter, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported.
It said the cumulative budget gap for the first quarter of 2023 stood at P270.9 billion.
Year-to-date (YTD) revenue collections from January to March 2023, the BTr said, reached P818.7 billion, higher by 4.38 percent or P34.3 billion from the same period last year.
Tax revenues, on the other hand, accounted for 87.89 percent or P719.5 billion, while non-tax revenues made up 12.11 percent or P99.2 billion.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)’s collection rose to P505.2 billion, 0.48 percent of P2.4 billion higher from the previous year’s record for the same period.
On the other hand, the Bureau of Customs (BOC)’s overall collections of P213.8 billion as of end-March saw a 13.40 percent or P25.3 billion hike from last year’s period.
However, BTr revenues declined by 19.94 percent or P9.7 billion from the previous year’s P48.7 billion due to the high base effect of dividend remittances in 2022.
“The government is constantly working to find ways to improve the efficiency and transparency of our collection systems to achieve our fiscal targets,” said Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno.
Non-tax collections from other offices (including privatization proceeds and fees and charges), which increased to P22.0 billion in March 2023 from P16.7 billion last year, led to a higher cumulative revenue of P60.1 billion, rising by 58.59 percent or P22.2 billion year-over-year.