Government revenues reach P2.84 trillion in 2020

MANILA, Philippines — Revenues generated by the national government reached P2.84 trillion in 2020, slightly below the downscaled target, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

Government revenues stood at P2.84 trillion last year, which included tax collections from the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), as well as non-tax revenues, such as collections from dividends, fees, privatization and Treasury income.

The latest figure was about 0.46 percent lower than the revised full-year program of P2.85 trillion set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) during its meeting last December.

It was also 9.47 percent lower than the government’s total collection in 2019, which amounted to P3.14 trillion.

However, the Department of Finance said the data gathered by the BTr was still subject to reconciliation with the respective reports of the BIR and the BOC.

Based on a report by the DOF’s Revenue Operations Group, the two largest revenue-generating agencies collected P2.43 trillion in 2020, surpassing their P2.187 trillion revised full-year target by 11.27 percent.

This was despite the severe economic downturn that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic and the imposition of lockdowns, the DOF said.

Revenues collected by the BIR reached P1.899 trillion, 12.68 percent above the adjusted goal of P1.69 trillion, but 12.69 percent lower than the P2.18 trillion it generated in 2019.

The DOF said the BOC’s collections totaled P533.88 billion, 6.49 percent higher than its goal of P501.33 billion, but 15.3 percent lower than the 2019 level of P630.31 billion.

Citing a separate report from BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa, the DOF said the bureau’s excise tax collections reached P289.98 billion in 2020, exceeding its P285.77 billion target by 1.47 percent.

More than half of the amount came from tobacco products, with P148.45 billion in sin taxes raised. This was 6.71 percent higher than the target of P139.12 billion.

Excise taxes from alcohol products also amounted to P75.94 billion, 22.74 percent above the P61.87 billion target, while sweetened beverages contributed P30.56 billion, also higher than the goal of P28.54 billion.

Duties and taxes collected from the importation of 12.72 billion kilograms of petroleum products reached P145.85 billion last year.

Including coal and coal products, BOC revenues from oil products amounted to P171.07 billion, the DOF said.

Taxes and duties from non-oil commodities, such as motor vehicles, telecommunications equipment and food products, accounted for P342.42 billion of the bureau’s total collections.