Gov't revenues, spending rise in June 

Government revenues continued to grow on the back of the double-digit increase in tax collections while spending went up by more than 8 percent, data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed in a report by Philippine News Agency.

In its latest cash operations report, the BTr said revenue collections in June reached PHP306.9 billion, up by 3.5 percent from the PHP296.5 billion recorded in June 2024.

The BTr said the sustained double-digit growth in tax collections offset the high base effect of the one-off remittances under non-tax revenues last year.

Tax revenues, which amounted to PHP280.1 billion, rose by 12.35 percent from PHP249.3 billion in June 2024.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) posted a robust 16.24 percent increase in June, collecting PHP200.5 billion.

The Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) collection also increased by 3.23 percent to PHP77 billion from last year’s PHP74.6 billion.

Non-tax revenues reached PHP26.8 billion in June, down by 43.25 percent due to the high base effect of one-off remittances in 2024.

The income of the BTr, meanwhile, rose to PHP16.1 billion, more than double that of last year’s PHP7.4 billion, due to a higher national government share in profits of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.’s dividend remittance.

Spending

Expenditures, on the other hand, went up by 8.49 percent to PHP548.5 billion.

"The growth of spending was primarily driven by the higher National Tax Allotment shares of LGUs, the Annual Block Grant to the BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao), personnel services, and interest payments (IP)," said the BTr.

Jan-June performance

The BTr said the national government’s fiscal performance for the first half of 2025 remained broadly on track due to sustained double-digit growth of tax revenues.

For the first half of the year, total revenue collections went up by 5.15 percent to PHP2.260 trillion.

Tax revenues accounted for about PHP2.033 trillion of the total revenue collections from January to June, up by 10.74 percent from last year's collections.

BIR collections reached PHP1.554 trillion, higher by 14.11 percent, driven mainly by increases in corporate income tax, value-added tax, and personal income tax.

"Additional sources of higher revenue came from increased excise tax collections on tobacco, including electronic cigarettes, through the bureau’s continued efforts to intensify the crackdown on the illicit tobacco trade and the strict implementation of the mandatory excise tax stamps on vapor products," said the BTr.

Higher percentage tax collections from banks and financial institutions also contributed to the strong performance.

The BOC’s January to June collection amounted to PHP458.8 billion, up by 0.71 percent year on year.

Non-tax revenues amounted to PHP227.7 billion, exceeding the program by 2.87 percent, driven by better-than-expected BTr income performance.

The BTr said income in the first half of the year amounted to PHP145.3 billion, which was already 54.81 percent higher than the 2025 Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing program, with the excess attributed to dividend collections, interest income on national government deposits, and the NG share from MIAA profit.

For the first half of the year, disbursements reached PHP3.026 trillion, up by 9.49 percent from last year’s PHP2.76 trillion.

The BTr said spending for the first semester remained within the PHP3.041 trillion program for the period.

The budget deficit, meanwhile, amounted to PHP765.5 billion, just 0.63 percent above the program despite accelerated and higher public spending to support economic growth.