Gov’t fiscal balance swings to surplus of P45.7B in January — Diokno

The national government’s fiscal balance swung to a surplus in January as the growth in state collections outpaced spending during the period, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Friday.

The national government’s fiscal balance stood at a surplus of P45.7 billion in January, a turnaround from P23.38 billion deficit in the same period last year, as state revenues outpaced spending during the period. pic.twitter.com/63hH4wi73l

— Ted Cordero (@Ted_Cordero) March 17, 2023

Citing data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), Diokno said: “The national government ran a P45.7-billion budget surplus in January 2023, reversing the P23.4 billion deficit recorded a year ago.”

“This favorable outcome was a result of revenues outgrowing government spending: revenues grew by 25.2% while spending rose by 0.3%,” the Finance chief told reporters in a Viber group message.

State revenues in the first month of 2023 grew by P70.092 billion from P278.075 billion in the same period last year.

Broken down, state collections were composed of P305.431 billion in tax revenue, which grew by 19%, and P42.736 billion non-tax revenue, which jumped by 90%.

Tax collections from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) stood at P234.819 billion, up 20% from P195.775 billion year-on-year.

Collections from the Bureau of Customs (BOC) increased by 21% to P70.591 billion from P58.016 billion in January 2022.

Non-tax collections by the BTr amounted to P17.753 billion, up 60% from P11.117 billion.

Total collections from other offices, including privatization proceeds, fees, and charges stood at P24.983 billion, up 120% from P11.332 billion.

Government expenditures, meanwhile, barely moved as it grew by P961 million from P301.457 billion in January 2022.

Primary expenditure, composed of state spending for programs, projects, and services of the government, totaled P255.448 billion, up 8% from P235.906 billion year-on-year.

Interest payments declined by 28% to P46.97 billion from P65.551 billion year-on-year.

“Net of interest payments, the national government’s primary surplus for January was P92.7 billion, more than double the P42.2 billion primary surplus posted in the same month last year,” Diokno said.—AOL, GMA Integrated News