The Macau government collected a total of MOP71.03 billion (US$8.9 billion) in direct taxes from gaming during the first six months of 2014.
The figure is up by 16 percent from the same period one year ago, according to data disclosed by Macau’s Financial Services Bureau.
The money raked until June-end accounts for 60.3 percent of the government’s MOP117.85-billion target for revenue from direct taxes from gaming for full 2014. The Macau government is historically very conservative when forecasting gaming tax revenue in its yearly budgets.
Direct taxes from gaming brought in 85.1 percent of the Macau government’s total revenue for the first half of the year. The importance of gaming taxes for the Macau government has been increasing in recent years, as the city’s casino industry booms.
The Macau government levies a special gaming tax on casino gross gaming revenue at the rate of 35 percent. It also collected about 4 percent of the gross in indirect taxes for social and promotional purposes, as well as a levy on each gaming machine, live dealer table and VIP room.
Total government revenue for the first six months of 2014 was MOP83.45 billion. Government spending amounted MOP22.98 billion, meaning Macau ended the first half of the year with a surplus of MOP60.46 billion.
