Macao's gaming tax revenues down 5.3% in January

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

MACAO, Feb. 23 (Chinese media) -- Macao Special Administrative Region government

saw its gaming tax income dropped 5.3 percent year-on- year to 2.92 billion

patacas (370 million U.S. dollars), the Macao Post Daily reported on Monday.

Gaming taxes accounted for 82.3 percent of the SAR government's total

revenues in January, which amounted to 3.55 billion patacas (449 million

dollars), a decrease of 10.3 percent over the same period of last year, the

Daily said, quoting figures from the SAR's Financial Services Bureau (DSF).

Under relevant regulations, Macao's casinos pay 35 percent of their gross

revenues as direct tax to the SAR government, and another 4 percent to 5 percent

are also paid to the government as funds for the SAR's social, cultural,

educational and other public causes.

For the whole of 2008, the SAR government's income from direct gaming taxes

reached a record 39.56 billion patacas (five billion dollars), increasing by

34.8 percent over 2007, according to the DSF figures. Direct gaming taxes

accounted for 77.5 percent of the government's total revenues last year.

In 2008, local gaming sector, comprising casinos, horse and dog races, and

various forms of lotteries, posted record revenues of 109.83 billion patacas

(13.9 billion dollars), according to the statistics from the SAR's Gaming

Inspection and Coordination Bureau.