Government reports lower budget deficit in July 

The national government's budget deficit went down by 39.67 percent in July as revenue growth surpassed the increase in spending, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said in a report by Philippine News Agency.

Data released on Wednesday showed that the budget deficit during the month declined to PHP28.8 billion from PHP47.8 billion in July last year.

The government incurs a budget deficit when spending exceeds its revenues.

For the first seven months of the year, the national government's budget deficit, however, reached PHP642.8 billion, higher by 7.21 percent compared to the same period in 2023.

Revenue performance

Revenue collections reached PHP457.4 billion in July, up 11.09 percent from PHP411.7 billion in July last year.

The BTr said tax collections, which comprised 88.07 percent of the total, grew by 15.46 percent year on year while non-tax revenues, accounting for 11.93 percent, contracted by 13.2 percent.

Collections for January to July, meanwhile, reached PHP2.6 trillion, surpassing the PHP2.3 trillion raised in the same period last year.

Of the 2024 collections, 85.85 percent, or PHP2.2 trillion, came from taxes, which grew by 10.99 percent.

On the other hand, the non-tax component contributed PHP368.8 billion, higher by 44.47 percent from last year.

Expenditures

The national government's expenditures, meanwhile, rose by 5.8 percent in July.

"July disbursements reached PHP486.2 billion and were 5.8 percent or PHP26.7 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 percent to PHP406.8 billion, while interest payments, likewise, rose by 24.9 percent to PHP79.4 billion.

"This was due to the higher cost of financing and depreciation of the peso observed throughout the year," the BTr said.

For January to July, spending amounted to PHP3.2 trillion, up by 13.17 percent from last year's PHP2.8 trillion.