Gov’t expecting MOP29.46b in gaming tax in 2020

The Macau government anticipates it will collect MOP29.46 billion in gaming taxes from the city’s casinos in 2020, 70% less than the forecast of MOP98 billion that was reported in November last year.
The latest forecast was updated in the recent revision to the 2020 budget, which was approved by Legislative Assembly (AL) on December 9.
“Considering that the detrimental impact of Covid-19 on the city’s gaming receipt is worse than expected,” as stated in the AL document, the authorities readjusted the fiscal budget and revised the gaming tax tally again to a lower number.
Out of all the gaming taxes the SAR government is to receive from throughout 2020, a total of MOP26.29 billion is expected to come from a direct tax on the city’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR). This is down 71.1% from the previously estimated figure announced in November last year.
Meanwhile, MOP210 million in taxes will derive from taxes on commissions paid to junket operators, dropping 41.7% from the November forecast.
The contributions of casino operators to special projects, such as urban development plans, the social security system and promoting tourism in the city, is expected to reach just MOP1.5 billion, down 71.1% from last year’s forecast.
In the last 10 months of this year, the SAR government reaped MOP24.3 billion in gaming taxes, representing a sharp drop of 74% from the same period last year, according to the Financial Services Bureau (DSF).
The city’s accumulated GGR from January to November was MOP52.62 billion, which dropped sharply by 80.5% year-on-year, according to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ).
The updated GGR is still a far cry from the revised annual GGR of MOP130 billion for 2020 and had already adjusted been from the initial MOP260 billion.
Macau has been known to have 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 GGR, including various levies.
In the newly-approved budget plan, the government will commit another MOP8.1 billion to cover expenses in December 2020. MDT

2021 estimated revenue down to MOP95.81 billion

The new law text of the 2021 budget submitted by the government has adjusted the general comprehensive budget revenue from 96.03 billion patacas to 95.81 billion patacas. The budget balance was also adjusted from the original 850 million patacas to 600 million patacas.
Yesterday, the First Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly (AL) held another meeting discussing the government’s budget for 2021.
The government has proposed allocating 26.6 billion patacas from the financial reserve to address the public administration deficit.