THE national government incurred a budget deficit of P171.4 billion in February 2025, wider by 4.1 percent than the P164.7-billion gap recorded a year ago, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said Wednesday.
Data showed that government expenditures increased 8.9 percent in February to P423.2 billion, while revenue collection climbed 12.9 percent to P251.8 billion during the same period.
This brought the total budget deficit in the first two months of 2025 to P103.1 billion, reflecting a 34.35-percent increase from a year ago,
The BTr said that after deducting interest payments from expenditures, the cumulative primary balance showed a surplus of P49.8 billion, marking a 9.88-percent improvement year-on-year.
Revenue collections in the two-month period reached P718.9 billion, beating the previous year’s outturn by 11.32 percent or P73.1 billion.
By revenue class, taxes accounted for the largest component at P671.9 billion, growing by 12.64 percent from a year ago
Non-tax revenue, which comprised 6.54 percent of the balance, dipped 4.67 percent to P47 billion from P49.3 billion a year earlier.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected a net amount of P159.7 billion in February, after deducting P896.0 million in tax refunds, indicating a 15.70-percent year-on-year improvement.
The growth in the BIR’s February collection was primarily due to higher collections from corporate income tax (CIT), personal income tax (PIT), excise tax on tobacco and alcohol products, value-added tax (VAT) and documentary stamp tax (DST), the BTr said.
It said the BIR also sustained a double-digit growth in the first two months of the year, resulting in a 15.31-percent increase in its collections to P514.7 billion.
“The YoY growth was driven by increases in VAT collections, followed by the CIT, PIT, final withholding tax on government securities, and DST. The BIR’s continued progress in revenue performance is credited to its ongoing improvements in tax payment systems and collection efficiency,” the BTr said.
Meanwhile, collections by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) reached P71.8 billion in February, a 1.71-percent increase over o the same month last year.
This brought the BOCs’ two-month revenue to P151 billion, surpassing the P144 billion recorded in the same period a year ago by 4.91 percent (P7.1 billion).
February’s non-tax revenues rose to P17.4 billion, marking a 37.11-percent rise from the comparable outturn last year.
Government disbursements in the first two months of the year accelerated to P822.0 billion, compared to P722.5 billion in the same period in 2024.