Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong announced yesterday that in order to support employment, the local economy and livelihoods, the government will launch a four-strand scheme, which includes government-issued vouchers, running from April to December.
Lei made the remarks yesterday at a press conference about the scheme at China Civil Plaza in Nape.
Lei said that the four-strand scheme comprises bringing the annual wealth-sharing scheme forward to next month, a three-part programme to boost local consumption, upgrading arrangements for occupational skills and measures to benefit employees and businesses.
Earlier wealth-sharing scheme
According to a statement provided by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) yesterday, the wealth-sharing scheme takes up 7.235 billion patacas of the government’s budget for this year. The statement pointed out that under the scheme, Macau permanent residents are entitled to 10,000 patacas, while non-permanent residents are entitled to 6,000 patacas. The payout will start in April.
Vouchers, elderly benefits & subsidies
The statement noted that the three-part programme to boost local consumption comprises voucher issuance, elderly consumption benefits, and a string of subsidies.
The statement said that the voucher issuance, accounting for about 5 billion patacas of the government’s budget, will be carried out through locally-recognised electronic payment platforms. The statement underlined that the scheme is designed to benefit Macau residents, non-resident workers – commonly known as blue card holders, and non-locals studying in Macau’s higher-education institutions.
The statement said that in May, those eligible will be able to redeem the vouchers through accredited accounts, via any of the locally-recognised electronic payment platforms. The statement noted that the vouchers can only be used against the value of purchases, when the sum being spent in a single transaction amounts to three times the face value of the issued voucher.
The statement stressed that each eligible account will be able to redeem up to 600 patacas worth of vouchers per month per account, and up to 200 patacas per day per account.
Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) Director Tai Kin Ip mentioned as an example that if a person spends 50 patacas at a local shop and pays through one of the e-payment platforms, he or she will receive 50 patacas worth of digital vouchers. Tai pointed out that the voucher will be separated into five 10-pataca vouchers, adding that for 100 patacas people will receive ten 10-pataca vouchers and so on and so forth. He said that residents can use a 10-pataca voucher for every 30 patacas spent via e-payment platforms on their next purchase. He added that residents can use the vouchers together, for example, by using two 10-pataca vouchers when purchasing items costing at least 60 patacas, or use them separately, on their next purchase. Tai stressed that the respective voucher is only valid for 15 days.
Tai also said that the vouchers can not be used everywhere, such as in casinos, or to pay utility telephone and TV cable bills, medical bills, as well as for bank, insurance and pawn-shop payments, and, inter-city or overseas travel fares.
Tai acknowledged that the government understands that digital payments may be difficult for seniors to handle. Therefore, Tai said, the second programme focuses on consumption benefits for the elderly.
According to the statement, the elderly benefits take up 567 million patacas of the government’s budget. The statement said that along with the vouchers issued via e-payment platforms, Macau residents aged 65 or above will receive another discount of up to 5,000 patacas on purchases made via their pink “Senior Citizen Personalised Macau Pass Cards”.
Tai said that for senior citizens, every time they purchase 30 patacas worth of items on their Macau Pass Cards, they will immediately receive a 10-pataca discount on their spending, adding that hence the purchase total becomes just 20 patacas. He also said that when the senior citizen purchases 60 patacas worth of goods or services, they will immediately receive a 20-pataca discount.
The statement said that concerning the third part of the programme, the government is providing subsidies for residents to take part in local tours or to stay in local hotels – the so-called staycations – between April and December. The statement noted that on the basis of the “Macau Ready Go! Local Tours” scheme implemented in 2020, each resident will be eligible to receive a 280-pataca subsidy.
The statement said that in addition to the local tour subsidy, the government will also offer residents a 200-pataca subsidy on hotel accommodation. The statement pointed out the aim of the subsidy is to encourage hotels to launch a greater number of package promotions.
Tai said that each hotel room can be booked using two residents’ subsidies. He said as an example that two people can book one hotel room and enjoy a 400-pataca discount thanks to the subsidy programme.
Vocational training upgrade
Moreover, according to the statement, the government is upgrading arrangements for occupational skills, which will cost the government up to 334 million patacas.
The statement underlined that the government will optimise the subsidised-training scheme by expanding it to cover employees from the gaming sector. The statement also noted that the government will be lifting the quota limit set for each training programme.
The statement also pointed out that the government will be enabling employees subject to “unpaid leave” – and who have not been nominated by their respective employers for government-organised paid training – to enrol themselves in Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) courses.
Tax relief & tax-exemption
Meanwhile, the last strand of the new economy support scheme is to implement a raft of measures to financially benefit employees and businesses. According to the statement, the measures mean that the government will forfeit 1.056 billion patacas in potential income.
The statement noted that in the fourth strand of the scheme, the government will rebate 70 percent of the personal income tax for the fiscal year 2019 for each Macau resident liable for the tax. The statement pointed out that the maximum rebate for each individual will be 20,000 patacas.
The statement also said that the government will also deduct from businesses’ tax liabilities their profit tax otherwise payable for last year, up to a maximum of 300,000 patacas. The statement added that the tax measure covers commercial enterprises including small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The statement also underlined that the government will waive the 5 percent tourism tax payable by businesses such as hotels, bars, gymnasiums and karaoke bars.
According to the statement, there are other measures related to people’s welfare, which will cost the government 14.9 billion patacas, covering residents’ health voucher scheme, education allowances, financial assistance, disability subsidy, aside from a number of tax and fee waivers.
The statement also stressed that the government had introduced the previous two rounds of financial support measures in order to ease the economic pressure faced by the public and local businesses due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The statement said that the two rounds had achieved their expected results in terms of minimising the financial burden shouldered by the public and local businesses, stabilising the economy, and protecting employment. The statement pointed out that the government believes that such measures have helped maintain Macau’s social stability.
Encouraging internal circulation
Lei told reporters that the reason the government decided to launch digital vouchers instead of crediting the previous subsidy consumption smartcards was because the government believed that the former could encourage economic internal circulation. He added that the new scheme focused on “what everyone could do for the local economy” rather than “what could the government do for the local economy”. Lei said he hoped that local people would contribute by giving new impetus to the city’s economy.
According to the Reuters business newswire, internal circulation refers to the domestic cycle of production, distribution, and consumption, for its development, supported by innovation and upgrades in the economy.
Lei also said that the reason the vouchers are only available for 15 days was because he wanted the unused vouchers to be returned to the public coffers.
When reporters asked whether the voucher scheme would affect the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Lei answered that Macau’s inflation rate fell to 0.81 percent in 2020 even after the distribution of the government’s consumption subsidy smartcards to residents, adding , therefore, he was not too worried that it would cause drastic inflation.
The media also asked Lei whether the press conference was a direct response to construction workers who occupied the road in an unemployment protest on Friday. Lei said: “Emotion is not the solution to all problems”, adding that workers should let the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) do their job and help with their current employment situation. He also said that the government had been planning the four-strand scheme since last year.
Lei also said that since the resumption of the individual visit scheme in September last year, the gross gaming revenue has been recovering gradually. He said that the future situation would depend on the proliferation of Macau’s COVID-19 vaccinations. He added that the government would continue to monitor its revenue.
When asked about the new round of bidding for gaming concessions in 2022, Lei said the government would gather different people’s opinions in the second half of the year. He stressed that it would be an important topic to be discussed as it affects Macau’s future economic development.
Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong addresses yesterday’s press conference about the government’s new four-strand economic support scheme at China Civil Plaza in Nape.
Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) Director Tai Kin Ip addresses the press conference yesterday. Photos: Prisca Tang
