The government will likely surpass its revenue target for this year, Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Benjamin Diokno said.

“I think for full year [2023], we will surpass our target,” Diokno said during his weekly press chat.

The revenue target for this year is PHP3.729 trillion which is equivalent to 15.2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Diokno said that for the first five months of the year alone, revenue collections already amounted to PHP1.6 trillion, higher by 10.8 percent compared to the PHP1.437 trillion collections in the same period last year.

Broken down, tax revenues amounted to PHP1.414 trillion, up by 9.71 percent from last year’s PHP1.289 trillion.

Of the total amount, PHP1.054 trillion was collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue while the Bureau of Customs’ collections amounted to PHP359.3 billion.

Diokno said the higher collection could be attributed to “improved tax administration.”

“We don’t have new taxes. In fact, some of the taxes were reduced, the TRAIN (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) law puts more money in your pockets,” Diokno said.

Diokno said the BIR’s campaign against fake receipts also contributed to the increase.

Non-tax collections meanwhile amounted to PHP178 billion, up by 20.56 percent from the PHP147.7 billion a year ago.

Despite the good revenue performance, Diokno however expressed concern about the government agencies’ slow spending.

“We have a surplus, that’s surprising. This reflects on slower spending on the part of the government. It will impact government performance. I’m concerned with the spending performance of the government,” Diokno said.

Diokno however clarified that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is quick to release funds.

“It’s not DBM. Agencies have slow spending and that will impact the performance. We’re collecting more revenues than forecasted, but they agencies are underspending,” he said.

“We are below our deficit target. For the fiscal conservative, that’s nice, not necessarily good for a developing country. That’s not good, because we are trying to pick up, make up for that pandemic,” Diokno added.

Diokno however said there is still time to adjust the spending performance.

“I brought this up in the Cabinet. We need to spend. It’s not a lack of money, it’s ability to perform,” Diokno said. (PNA)