The government of Macau has reportedly announced that it recorded a 1.5% increase year-on-year in combined tax revenues from gaming for the eight months to the end of August to approximately $9.48 billion.

According to a report from GGRAsia citing official data from the enclave’s Financial Services Bureau, this figure was higher than the $9.34 billion collected over the course of the same eight-month period in 2018 and came despite the city’s casino industry chalking up a comparable 1.9% decline in aggregated gross gaming revenues to around $24.54 billion.

Tolerable tax:

Macau is home to some of the world’s largest and most famous gambling venues including the iconic Casino Grand Lisboa from SJM Holdings Limited and Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited’s $3.2 billion Studio City Macau. All of these operations are reportedly required to pay a 35% gross gaming revenues tax alongside smaller duties for every live dealer table, gaming machine and VIP room they operate that takes the effective rate up to roughly 39%.

Industry importance:

GGRAsia reported that the most recent eight-month figure accounted for some 77.9% of the just over $12.18 billion Macau earlier envisioned it would collect from gaming over the course of 2019 and represented about 89.9% of the city’s hitherto $10.59 billion in total tax revenues.

Exceeding expectations:

Macau managed to amass a fiscal surplus in the region of $6.68 billion for the entirety of last year and moreover began 2019 by conservatively predicting that the ensuing twelve-month tally would top something like $2.24 billion. However, the most recent eight-month accounts have purportedly already seen this planned excess reach approximately $4.72 billion and means that the enclave could quite feasibly end the year with an annual surplus topping $7.08 billion.