Higher revenue collections eased the budget deficit in July, the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) said. The BTr reported that the national government's budget deficit fell 39.67% last month to P28.8 billion from P47.8 billion during the same period the previous year.
The government incurs a budget deficit when spending exceeds its revenues. However, the budget deficit for the first seven months of the year totaled P642.8 billion, higher by 7.21% compared to the same period in 2023.
"Revenue collections reached P457.4 billion in July, up 11.09% from P411.7 billion in July last year," the BTr said, highlighting the increased government revenues during the month.
The BTr said tax collections comprised 88.07% of the total and grew by 15.46% year on year, while non-tax revenues, accounting for 11.93%, contracted by 13.2%.
Meanwhile, collections for January to July reached P2.6 trillion, surpassing the P2.3 trillion raised in the same period last year.
Of the 2024 collections, 85.85%, or P2.2 trillion, came from taxes, which grew by 10.99%.
On the other hand, the non-tax component contributed P368.8 billion, higher by 44.47% from last year.
**Expenditures**
Meanwhile, the national government's expenses rose by 5.8% in July.
"July disbursements reached P486.2 billion and were 5.8% or P26.7 billion higher than what was spent in 2023 partly due to the higher National Tax Allotment (NTA) share of LGUs," the BTr said.
Primary expenditures (net of interest payments) increased by 2.73% to P406.8 billion, while interest payments rose by 24.9% to P79.4 billion.
"This was due to the higher cost of financing and depreciation of the peso observed throughout the year," the BTr said.
From January to July, spending amounted to P3.2 trillion, up 13.17% from last year's P2.8 trillion.
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