The Macau government collected nearly MOP8.73 billion (US$1.08 billion) in fiscal revenue from direct taxes on gaming in the first three months of 2022, according to the latest data released on Tuesday by the city’s Financial Services Bureau.
The aggregate take for the first quarter of this year was down 4.8 percent year-on-year.
The March tally of MOP3.0 billion was up nearly 21.5 percent relative to the MOP2.47-billion in gaming taxes payable by the industry for February.
According to the government’s budget plan, revenue from direct taxes from gaming has been forecast to reach just under MOP49.76 billion in 2022.
Macau charges an effective tax rate of 39 percent on casino GGR – with 35 percent via direct government tax, and the remainder via a number of levies to pay for a range of community good causes.
Macau’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the first quarter of this year stood at MOP17.77billion, down 24.8 percent on the first three months of 2021.
The tax-take figures in a given calendar period, and the city’s casino GGR in such a time frame, are not directly comparable for a number of reasons. They include the fact that there is typically a delay between the point where GGR is recorded in Macau casino operations, and the point at which tax is registered by the Macau government as having been paid on such play.
