The government incurred a budget deficit of P120.9 billion in August, up 201 percent from the P40.1-billion shortfall a year ago, as the 34-percent acceleration in public spending outperformed the 6.6-percent growth in revenue collection, the Bureau of the Treasury said Thursday.
The August gap brought the cumulative budget deficit in the first eight months to P958.2 billion, or 29.4 percent higher than a year ago. It represented 52 percent of the P1.856-trillion revised deficit program for the year.
Revenue collections rose 6.6 percent year-on-year in August to P259.3 billion and 3.9 percent to P2.005 trillion in the first eight months, accounting for 70 percent of the P2.881-trillion revised collection goal for 2021.
Data showed 90 percent of the total collections, or P1.813 trillion, was generated through taxes while non-tax collections comprised the remaining 10 percent or P191.8 billion.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue’s net collection in August amounted to P186.1 billion, down 1 percent or P1.9 billion from the previous year’s P187.9 billion. BIR’s P1.388 trillion year-to-date collection as of end-August increased 6.6 percent from the 2020 comparable figure.
“Going forward, BIR must collect P173.1 billion per month to meet its adjusted 2021 target of P2.081 trillion,” the Treasury said.
Collections by the Bureau of Customs stood at P53.4 billion in August, after deducting P133.0 million for tax refunds, and sustained a double-digit growth of 20.23 percent with a P9-billion increase from a year ago.
Cumulative revenue collection by BOC as of end-August hit P412.3 billion or 67 percent of its revised full-year target of P616.7 billion and was 18.71 percent higher than P347.3 billion a year earlier.
“To achieve its updated program for the year, BOC needs to raise a monthly average collection of P51.1 billion from September to December 2021,” the Treasury said.
Income collected and generated by the Bureau of the Treasury amounting to P4.7 billion in August, or more than double the previous year’s level of P2.1 billion, driven by higher remittance of national government share from Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.’s income, dividend remittances and earnings from investments.
The Treasury’s aggregate revenue in the eight-month period contracted by 48.21 percent year-on-year to P99.9 billion on high base effects from the implementation of Republic Act No. 11469 or the Bayanihan I last year.
Collections from other offices and other non-tax including privatization proceeds and fees and charges, went up by 78.80 percent to P13.9 billion following the easing lockdown rules this year.
Meanwhile, government disbursements hit P380.2 billion in August, up by 34.20 percent or P96.9 billion from last year and marked the second-highest growth registered for the year next to February’s 37.27 percent.
“The releases of various COVID-19 funding requirements, including the financial assistance to households affected by the implementation of Enhanced Community Quarantine in the National Capital Region and subsidy releases to PhilHealth drove the higher outturn for the month’,” the Treasury said.
The total expenditures from January to August reached P2.963 trillion, beating the previous year’s eight-month total of P2.671 trillion by 10.94 percent. It represented 63 percent of the P4.737 trillion revised program for 2021.
The Treasury said of the total expenditures, 94 percent or P356.3 billion went to primary spending which recorded a 36.62-percent growth over last year.
Deducting interest payments from expenditures, the Treasury said the national government’s primary deficit in August climbed to P97.0 billion. The resulting cumulative primary deficit of P666.7 billion for the first eight months was up by 41.52 percent or P195.6 billion from the same period in 2020.