Gaming | Jan-May tax down 25.7% year-on-year

The Macau SAR government received an aggregate amount of MOP15.63 billion in the form of tax receipts generated from the city’s gaming industry from January to May this year, representing a decline of 25.7% year-on-year, according to the latest statistics compiled by the Financial Services Bureau.
However, in May alone, the gaming tax revenue registered MOP3.25 billion, up only modestly by 1.3% from around MOP3.21-billion month-to-month.
The actual gaming tax during the first five months in 2021 was a far cry from the government’s earlier forecast of MOP50.01 billion.
The gaming tax revenue took up around 73.6% of the total public current reveneue, which amounted to around MOP21.25 billion, down 16.2% from MOP25.36 billion from the same period last year.
On the other hand, the government recorded a total expenditure of around MOP38 billion from January to May this year, up by around 17.5% from MOP32.4 billion year-over-year.
The uptick in public expenditure was mainly driven by an approximately 16% expenditure increase in the sub-category of “transfer, funding and subsidies” this year, which was driven by the need to assist the public with weathering the economic fallout from the pandemic.
Macau has one of the highest gaming taxation rates in the world, with a direct tax rate of 35% and an effective tax rate of 39% on gross gaming revenue, including various levies. The direct taxation alone is responsible for bringing in the bulk of government revenue.