Data from the Treasury bureau showed on Wednesday that last month’s P140.2-billion shortfall wiped out May’s P1.8-billion surplus, and was wider than the P75.3-billion gap a year earlier. The July gap brought the year-to-date deficit to P700.6 billion, wider than the P560.4 billion in the first half and P117.9 billion in the first seven months of 2019. Other offices posted P3.5 billion in tax revenues last month. As a result, total tax revenues dropped by 10.36 percent to P212.3 billion, reversing June’s 54.56-percent surge. This year’s budget deficit is projected to reach P1.81 trillion, or 9.6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to latest estimates from the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).

Source: Manila Times August 26, 2020 17:03 UTC