MANILA, June 4 (PNA) — The government posted an P80.85 billion budget surplus in April 2014 as revenues rose by 18 percent year-on-year while expenditures contracted by six percent.
Data released by the Department of Finance (DOF) Wednesday showed that total revenues last April reached P224.45 billion, higher than year-ago’s P190 billion.
Spending, on the other hand, declined by six percent to P143.6 billion from the P153.21 billion same period last year on account of lower interest payment.
Most of the government’s revenue-collecting agencies contributed to the increase in revenues last April with the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) posting the highest growth at 391 percent followed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC), 13 percent and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), fiver percent.
Revenues of the BTr reached P30.83 billion, BOC’s amounted to P30.76 billion and BIR’s, P7.1 billion.
On the other hand, the Other Offices posted an 11 percent drop in its revenues to P6.75 billion compared to the P7.61 billion same period in 2013.
In the first four months of the year, the government posted a deficit of P3.27 billion, 89 percent lower than the P29.68 billion in same period last year.
Revenues during the period reached P622.86 billion, 12 percent higher than the P554.34 billion in January to April 2013.
Collections of the BIR, which contributes about 70 percent of government revenues, totaled to P420.82 billion, seven percent higher than the P393.05 billion.
Contribution of the BOC rose by 22 percent to P117.27 billion from year-ago’s P95.95 billion.
The BTr’s revenues rose by 66 percent to P41.79 billion from year-ago’s P31.18 billion while the Other Offices’ went down by three percent to nearly P33 billion from P34.15 billion same period last year.
Meanwhile, expenditures during the same time rose and totaled to P626.13 billion, seven percent higher than the P584 billion in end-April 2013.
Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, in a statement, said the sustained rise in revenues was made as the government bids to “give us more fiscal headroom for productive spending.”
He said proportion of tax revenues to gross domestic product (GPD) further improved to 12.4 percent from the 12 percent in the first quarter of 2013. (PNA)