Intensified tax collection fuels record budget surplus in April

Fueled by government's aggressive tax collection, the Philippine budget surplus in April grew to a whopping P36.8 billion, a record for a month, data released by the Department of Finance showed.

 

The April surplus exceeded the P32.8 billion on program and is 19 percent more than the P31.02 billion windfall notched a year earlier. 

 

In a statement late Monday, Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima attributed the wider surplus to intensified tax collection efforts, particularly by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

 

"This most recent fiscal performance report is heartening to us, as it vindicates our belief that a drive for good governance has tangible effects on our ability to raise revenues, resulting in more fiscal space towards our priority programs," he said.

 

The government usually records a surplus in April given the April 15 deadline for filing income tax returns provides a revenue boost.

 

Still, in the four months to April, the budget deficit stood at P29.7 billion compared with P2.9 billion a year earlier.

 

The four-month deficit means government continues to enjoy wide fiscal space, considering the first semester deficit cap of P84.656 billion. 

 

The government adjusted this year's budget deficit target to P238 billion from P241 billion to reflect changes in revenue targets of the BIR, Bureau of Customs and programmed expenditures.

 

Spending in April reached P153.2 billion, up 25 percent from a year earlier, bringing total expenditures in the first four months to P584 billion or still way below the spending program of P1.98 trillion for the year. 

 

"We look forward to sustaining these gains by continuing our campaign for tax compliance, especially now as we prosecute several high-profile smuggling and tax evasion cases," Purisima said. 

 

"Additionally, the anti-smuggling measures we have put in place through revenue regulations, coupled with our data-guided strategy to arrive at a broader, more accurate tax base, should have a further positive impact on revenues for the rest of this year’s outlook," the Finance chief noted. — Siegfrid Alegado/VS, GMA News