Macau Considers Tax Breaks for Concessionaires Who Bring Foreign Gamblers

Macau’s Legislative Assembly Second Standing Committee has discussed the possibility of reducing tax rates for concessionaires who attract foreign players on their grounds. This comes shortly after the government of this special administrative region introduced stricter rules for the gambling industry at the start of April.

Visitors Have a Hard Time Going to Macau

During a meeting between government officials and committee members, the chairman of the committee, Andrew Chan Chak Mo, stated that the main reason why reduced taxes are being discussed is mainland China’s strict rules which make it hard for people to visit Macau.

Chan added that the tax break calculations will be made based on government data and pieces of advice given by the Gaming Commission. The Gaming Commission’s main goal is to research the development and future potential of the gambling industry in Macau. It is also in charge of formulating gaming policies.

The special 35% tax on gaming revenue will not be reduced, as the government suggests. However, at least one of the two charges that are featured in Macau’s Gaming Law Article 22 will likely be levied. The first charge is an amount that does not exceed 2% of the operator’s GGR and is directed toward the Macau Foundation. This amount will be levied at 1.6%.

As for the second charge, it is an annual amount no bigger than 3% of the operator’s GGR. This compulsive charge is directed toward the development of the city. At the moment, the amount is levied at 2.4% and it applies to five of the six concessionaires in Macau.

SJM dredges the waterway between Taipa and the Macau peninsular, which is why this concessionaire’s compulsive charge is just 1.4%.

Frequent Macau Gamblers Were Denied an Entry by Chinese Authorities

A memo by Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd, which was released today, noted that frequent gamblers who visited Macau on several occasions were blocked by Chinese authorities and were not given an exit visa. These problems are part of the reason why Macau’s gambling industry has been struggling recently.

According to Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd, the total casino GGR of the special administrative region between May 10 and May 15 marked the worst performance since October 2020. The daily average was $6.2 million and the performance compared to the first nine days of May was 75% lower.

China is not too fond of helping Macau deal with this problem as the mainland National Immigration Administration reported last week that since 2021, it identified and stopped over 90,000 people who were planning on participating in gambling activities in Macau.