PHL posts P23.4-billion budget deficit in January 2022

The National Government’s (NG) budget deficit for the first month of 2022 rose to P23.4 billion, up by 66.30% or P9.3 billion from last year’s shortfall of P14.1 billion. The fiscal performance for the period reflects a 9.70% growth in public expenditures alongside a 6.65% increase in revenue collection.

REVENUE PERFORMANCE

Total revenue reached P278.1 billion, posting a 6.65% or P17.3 billion year-over-year (YoY) growth for the month of January 2022. Bulk of the total (92%) was from taxes amounting to P255.3 billion while non-tax collections of P22.8 billion made up the remaining balance.

Collections by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for the month was at P195.8 billion, 7.48% or P13.6 billion better against the P182.2 billion actual collections made in January of the previous year.

Similarly, the P58.3 billion collected by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for the first month of the year improved by 23.43% or P11.1 billion from P47.3 billion posted in the same period a year ago. Improved valuation, intensified enforcement against illegal importation, improved compliance by traders to customs laws, gradual improvement of importation volume, and the government’s effort in ensuring unhampered movement of goods domestically and internationally¹ drove the positive performance for the month.

Income collected and generated by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) stood at P10.9 billion, declining by 41.75% or P7.8 billion YoY. The contraction was attributed to the high base effect of dividend remittances of the National Transmission Corporation (TRANSCO) and PAGCOR in January 2021, which remitted P8.3 billion and P1.0 billion, respectively.

January collections from other offices (other non-tax including privatization proceeds and fees and charges) amounting to P11.9 billion was 7.96% above last year’s outturn of P11.0 billion.

EXPENDITURES

NG disbursement for January 2022 increased by 9.70% or P26.7 billion YoY to P301.5 billion partly due to higher National Tax Allocation (NTA) releases. Of the total, 78% or P235.9 billion were primary expenditures which grew by 3.57% over last year’s level.Interest payments (IP) of P65.6 billion also went up by 39.40% from last year’s P47.0 billion. IP accounted for 23.57% of revenue and 21.74% of expenditures, up last year’s 18.04% and 17.11%, respectively.

PRIMARY SURPLUS/ (DEFICIT)

Net of interest payments, NG’s primary surplus for the first month of the year reached P42.2 billion, 27.92% or P9.2 billion higher than the P33.0 billion primary surplus recorded in the equivalent period last year.

___________________

¹ https://customs.gov.ph/boc–surpasses–january–2022–target–collection–by–p6–billion/