The Macau government pocketed MOP76.27 billion (US$9.48 billion) in fiscal revenues from direct taxes on gaming between January 1 and October 31, a figure 17.4 percent higher than in the equivalent period a year earlier, according to provisional data released by the city’s Financial Services Bureau.
It had been estimated in the government’s 2017 budget that direct taxes on gaming collectable this year would amount to MOP71.86 billion. As of the calendar year to October 31, the execution rate of this item in the government’s central account stood at 106.1 percent.
Direct taxes from gaming accounted for 80.3 percent of the Macau government’s total revenue in the 10 months to October 30, which stood at MOP94.97 billion.
Aggregate gross gaming revenue (GGR) market wide in Macau in the first 10 months of 2017 was MOP220.01 billion, an increase of 19.2 percent year-on-year, according to data from the local regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
Macau charges an effective tax rate of 39 percent on casino GGR – 35 percent in direct government tax, and the remainder in a number of levies to pay for a range of community good causes.
The Macau government has a track record of taking a conservative approach when estimating gaming-related tax revenue in its yearly budgets.
