The Macau government’s take from direct taxes on gaming increased 9.6 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2017, show provisional data disclosed on Tuesday by the city’s Financial Services Bureau.
The city collected MOP22.34 billion (US$2.79 billion) in fiscal revenues from direct taxes on gaming between January and March. That compares with MOP20.39 billion collected in the same period of 2016.
Direct taxes from gaming brought in 84.5 percent of the Macau government’s total revenue in the first three months of 2017.
Macau’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) rose 13.0 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2017, to MOP63.48 billion, according to data from the local regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
Macau levies 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 fiscal surplus for the January-March period was up by 9.0 percent year-on-year to MOP12.82 billion.
Macau’s Chief Executive, Fernando Chui Sai On, forecast in November that the city’s 2017 casino GGR would total MOP200 billion. That is the same number the government gave as an estimate for 2016 casino GGR. The latter forecast undershot by 11.6 percent, as the year’s final tally amounted to MOP223.21 billion.
The government has said it expects to collect a total of MOP71.86 billion in fiscal revenue from direct taxes on gaming this year. That would represent 79.1 percent of the MOP90.86-billion public revenue currently being forecast for the city.
