Government reverts to P6.3 billion budget surplus in October

MANILA, Philippines — The Marcos administration snapped six consecutive months of budget deficit after it recorded a surplus of P6.3 billion in October as revenue collections outpaced spending.

Data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed that the government posted a higher budget surplus of P6.34 billion in October, a turnaround from the P34.4 billion shortfall recorded in the same period last year.

This is also the first time in six months that the government reverted back to a surplus after the P42.73 billion excess in April. 

From January to October, the government incurred a  budget deficit of P963.9 billion, 5.3 percent lower than the P1.02 trillion recorded in the same period last year. 

A budget surplus means that the government earned more than what it spent during a given time. The extra money can be used either to pay off debts or be invested in other programs.

Total revenue collection in October jumped by 22.6 percent to P473.1 billion from P385.8 billion in the same month last year, with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) both posting increases.

The bulk or 87.7 percent of the revenues came from tax collections at P414.9 billion, up by 16.9 percent from P354.8 billion previously.

BIR’s haul jumped by 18.6 percent to P325.5 billion from P274.4 billion while Customs saw its collection climb by 11.5 percent to P86.9 billion from P77.9 billion.

“The double-digit growth in October can be attributed to higher collections on value-added tax, personal income tax, documentary stamp tax, corporate income tax, excise tax on tobacco products and percentage taxes,” the Treasury said. 

On the other hand, the BOC’s improved system of determining the customs value of imported goods and stringent implementation of the fuel marking initiative contributed to its higher tax take.

Non-tax collections also surged by 87.6 percent to P58.3 billion in October from P31 billion a year ago.

Income generated by the Treasury went down by 13.5 percent to P14.5 billion due to lower income realized from investments. But collection from other offices including privatization proceeds and fees and charges for the month more than tripled to P43.7 billion in October. 

Meanwhile, government spending in October went up by 11.1 percent to P466.8 billion from P420.2 billion in the same month in 2023.