Budget surplus for August 2013 at P21.9B
NG surpasses August targets by 8%
The National Government (NG) posted a
P21.9 billion fiscal surplus in August to bring the 2013 total deficit
to P 82.6 billion. The fiscal surplus for the month was 8% above the
P20.3 billion target for August and more than eight times the surplus of
P2.5 billion achieved in August 2012. BIR, BOC, and the BTr all
achieved double-digit growth for the month of August compared to the
previous year.
Secretary of Finance Cesar Purisima
noted that the August surplus was achieved despite nearly on-target
spending, signaling the government’s success at sustaining fiscal
strength.
“The above-target surplus is highly
encouraging given that the government came very close to hitting its
spending target in August. As other economies in Asia are resorting to
aggressive revenue measures, we have proven that good governance has had
a dramatic effect in restoring stability to the coffers of the
government,” Purisima said.
For the month of August, revenues
totaled P155.1 billion against expenditures of P133.2 billion. For the
first eight months of 2013, aggregate revenues summed up to P1,139.2
billion, financing P1,221.8 billion in expenditures.
Netting out interest payments, the
government was able to achieve a primary surplus amounting to P40.1
billion in August, bringing the year-to-date primary surplus up to
P146.3 billion.
Revenues
NG revenue has gone up 20% over the same
month in the previous year with August revenues totaling P155.1 billion
against last year’s P129.4 billion. For the eight-month period, NG
collected P1,139.2 billion, up 12% from the same period in the previous
year. The large increase in revenue collection for August is a result of
improved collection efforts from both BIR and the BOC, with both
agencies posting high growth numbers.
For August, BIR was able to collect
P118.1 billion, growing by 22% from the same month last year while BOC
collected P26.1 billion, up by 15% year-on-year. This brings the total
collections by BIR and BOC to P811.9 billion and P198.9 billion,
respectively. The Bureau of Treasury had an income of P3.4 billion,
growing 15% compared to last year. Revenue from other offices amounted
to P7.5 billion, 7% higher year-on-year.
Expenditures
National Government expenditures
amounted to P133.2 billion for August, 4% below the P138.4 billion
target. Year-on-year, expenditures were up P6.4 billion or 5% for the
month of August. Total disbursements for January to August amounted to
P1,221.8 billion, P137.1 billion or 13% higher than expenditures in
2012.
Continuing reform agenda
Purisima stressed that continuing
reforms would support revenue resilience. Recently, President Benigno S.
Aquino III announced the reform agenda for the Philippine Bureau of
Customs, a wide-ranging set of policy actions aimed at reinventing the
agency.
“Significantly, we have replaced all of
the BOC’s Deputy Commissioners and Port Collectors with new personnel
recruited from the public and private sectors. This is to give the BOC,
an agency historically criticized as a bastion of corruption, a clean
slate to build good governance from the ground up,” Purisima said.
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