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By Chino S. Leyco, Reporter
THE government found another way to plug the
projected budget deficit this year, as the Philippines’ economic
managers expect higher revenue collections on the back of
skyrocketing commodity prices.
After postponing the government’s
balanced-budget goal to 2010, the Development and Budget
Coordinating Committee (DBCC) is looking at raising an additional
P42 billion revenues to P1.278 trillion from the previous assumption
of P1.236 trillion.
With the higher assumption, the Bureaus of
Internal Revenue (BIR) and of Customs should collect more than what
they have promised to the inter-agency body, which sets the
country’s macroeconomic goals and assumptions.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) earlier
raised its inflation forecast to between 7 percent and 9 percent
this year, surpassing its inflation target of 4 percent to 6
percent.
DBCC estimates showed the BIR could generate an
additional P21.25 billion, bringing to P866.15 billion its target
from the previous P844.9 billion. For its part, Customs could end
the year with P254 billion in collections, higher than the original
P217.8 billion.
The new estimates placed the government’s
non-tax revenue at P1.151 trillion, higher than the earlier P1.108
trillion, while non-tax revenues are likely to dip to P127.4 billion
from P127.7 billion previously.
Despite the higher assumptions, Finance
Undersecretary Gil Beltran said targets set for the BIR and Customs
will remain unchanged.
Beltran, however, said the two main revenue
generating agencies have a good potential of exceeding their
promised revenues considering the revised gross domestic product
(GDP) growth and inflation figures.
“The collections of the BIR and [Customs]
should not depart to much from that,” he told reporters.
The DBCC earlier cut its GDP growth forecast
this year to between 5.7 percent and 6.5 percent, from the original
6.3 percent to 7 percent.
Beltran said the finance department will monitor
the performance of the two agencies every end of the quarter.
Finance Secretary Margarito Teves had said the
DBCC is looking at a P75-billion budget deficit this year due to
demands for higher public spending to cushion the impact of
skyrocketing oil and rice prices.
“We are prepared for a budget deficit of not
more than 1 percent of GDP. If we take the GDP of around 7.5 as of
2007, it would not be more than P75 billion,” he said.
Teves said the government is targeting a zero
budget gap scenario by the end of President Arroyo’s term in 2010.
Despite the deferment, the DBCC retained the tax
revenue target of the BIR and Customs at P844 billion and P254.5
billion, respectively.
Teves also said the government expects an
P18.6-billion revenue windfall from the 12-percent value- added tax
(VAT) on oil.
The official, however, did not rule out a lower
deficit of P40 billion this year and a balanced budget by next year
provided the BIR and Customs exceed their collection targets.
“It can be 2009, depending on how we’ll
handle 2008. But I’m saying that the worst we’re expecting
really, is not more than 1 percent of GDP,” Teves said.
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