The government’s newly approved 2024 budget does not mention tax rebates on gross gaming revenue (GGR) generated by foreign players – a possibility that had been floated prior to the latest gaming concessions being granted, specialist gaming outlet GGR Asia reports.
There had been talk of a maximum five percent rebate on such taxes, applicable to designated gambling facilities patronised exclusively by foreign players, provided the concessionaires actively applied for the relief.
While all six concessionaires set up foreigner-only betting areas, none had applied for the rebate by the middle of 2023, GGR Asia says.
[See more: Foreigner-only gaming rooms proliferate at Macao’s casinos]
The rebates also do not appear in the new budget that was officially approved on Wednesday.
The budget forecasts gross gaming revenue to hit 216 billion patacas in 2024 – of which 35 percent (75.6 billion patacas) will be funnelled to the government as tax – and is Macao’s first budget to include a fiscal surplus since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Total GGR for 2023 is expected to top 181 billion patacas.
