Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng today ruled out a tax cut for Macau's gaming operators.
"There are no plans for reducing the tax," Ho said during a press conference about his 2020 Policy Address when asked by a reporter whether the government was planning to cut the direct gaming tax rate, which stands at 35 percent of casino operators' gross gaming revenue.
The press conference was held at Government Headquarters about 30 minutes after Ho's 2020 Policy Address in the nearby legislature's hemicycle.
Ho also said that the government would hold an international tender for Macau's gaming concessions in 2022, when the current three concessions and three sub-concessions expire.
The chief executive said that "everyone" could bid for a gaming concession in Macau in 2022. He pointed out that Macau's first tender for casino concessions 2002 was also held without any restrictions on the number of bidders. He also said that none of the current concessions and sub-concessions would be automatically renewed in 2022.
The three gaming concessionaires are SJM, Wynn and Galaxy. The three sub-concessions are held by Venetian Macau, Melco Crown and MGM Grand Paradise, according to the website of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ).
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the six operators' gross gaming revenues fell 60.0 percent year-on-year to 30.48 billion patacas (US$3.82 billion) in the first quarter of the year.
Macau's gaming operators pay 35 percent of their gross gaming revenues as direct tax to the government. They pay an additional four to five percent of their gross gaming revenues as so-called "contributions" into the public coffers for a string of social, cultural and other causes.
Re-opening borders for mainland tourists
Meanwhile, Ho also said that depending on the COVID-19 epidemic situation at that time, he would consider gradually opening Macau's borders again to tourists from the Chinese mainland from the end of this month.
Ho also said he planned to request the central government to extend the issuing of mainlanders' permits to travel to Macau to more cities in the mainland.
The chief executive said that if no new COVID-19 cases are confirmed over a 22-day period, the government would be able to move ahead with its plan of allowing mainland tourists back into Macau. He said that after 10 days the local government would possibly be able to "have more certainty" about its next move.
Mainland tourists have virtually been barred from Macau for two months.
'Second Macau'
When asked by a reporter whether the adjacent island of Hengqin could become "the second Macau", Ho said that's what he would like to see and hoping for. "That's what we want and hope," he said.
While acknowledging that Macau's Portuguese-style legal system could not be implemented on the island, which belongs to the mainland city of Zhuhai, Macau could nevertheless take joint development initiatives there. He said Hengqin could offer Macau new possibilities of diversifying its economy, which is heavily dependent on the gaming industry.
While Macau's land area amounts to just 32.9 square kilometres, Hengqin covers 106 square kilometres. It lies just a few hundred metres west of Macau's Cotai gaming and tourism precinct.
Macau has leased a one-square-kilometre plot of land on the island for the University of Macau (UM) campus.
