The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported that the National Government’s (NG) budget deficit for the first quarter of 2023 declined by 14.51 percent compared to the same period in 2022 on the back of increased revenue collections during the first three months of the year.

The cumulative budget gap for the first quarter of 2023 stood at P270.9 billion.

Year-to-date (YTD) revenue collections from January to March reached P818.7 billion, surpassing the revenue collections in the same period last year by 4.38 percent or P34.3 billion.

Tax revenues accounted for 87.89 percent or P719.5 billion, while non-tax revenues made up 12.11 percent or P99.2 billion.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)’s collection of P505.2 billion topped the previous year’s record for the same period by 0.48 percent or P2.4 billion.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC)’s overall collections of P213.8 billion as of end-March saw a 13.4 percent or P25.3 billion increase from last year’s period.

However, BTr revenues declined by 19.94 percent or P9.7 billion from the previous year’s P48.7 billion due to the high base effect of dividend remittances in 2022.

“The government is constantly working to find ways to improve the efficiency and transparency of our collection systems to achieve our fiscal targets,” said Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno.

Non-tax collections from other offices (including privatization proceeds and fees and charges), which increased to P22 billion in March from P16.7 billion last year, led to a higher cumulative revenue of P60.1 billion, rising by 58.59 percent or P22.2 billion year-over-year. DOF Communications Office