Fiscal surplus plummets 67.6 pct to MOP29.3 bln in 2015

The city’s fiscal surplus for the whole year of 2015 plummeted 67.6 per cent year-on-year to MOP29.3 billion, primarily as a result of gaming taxes received from local casinos plunging 34.5 per cent vis-a-vis 2014, the latest updates on the central account by the Financial Services Bureau (DSF) reveals. In 2015, the government’s target of notching up MOP18.8 billion fiscal surplus was successfully fulfilled. However, the amount, slumping by nearly MOP61 billion from 2014, was the lowest compared to the previous four years – of which related data is available for comparison. As the city’s total gross revenues registered a drop of 34.3 per cent year-on-year to MOP230.8 billion for last year, the government’s revenues from direct gaming taxes also posted an in-line fall of MOP84.4 billion, which, in fact, is the first annual decline in the past five years. Total revenues generated by the Special Administrative Region for the whole year of 2015 registered an annual decrease of 29.7 per cent to MOP109.8 billion, compared to the MOP156.1 billion of 2014, despite other direct taxes and capital revenues surging 25.7 per cent and 42.9 per cent year-on-year to MOP8.99 billion and MOP 1.09 billion for the year, respectively. In fact, the initial 2015 budget forecast that the city’s fiscal surplus for the year would be some MOP51.9 billion. However, the amount was decreased by two-thirds to MOP18.8 billion last May by the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong Vai Tac, due to the continuous economic downturn. Higher expenditure On the other hand, the government’s total expenditure totalled MOP80.5 billion for last year, climbing 22.4 per cent from 2014’s MOP65.8 billion. It is, however, some MOP7.44 billion less than the government’s budgeted MOP87.9 billion. Current expenditure, which includes payrolls to public servants, accounted for 85.6 per cent of the total, amounting to MOP68.9 billion, which represents a year-on-year increase of some 19.4 per cent. Meanwhile, only some MOP8.9 billion was spent on the city’s investment plan (PIDDA) despite the allocated budget for the segment being some MOP14.7 billion. Nevertheless, compared to the MOP7.3 billion for 2014, the expenditure on PIDDA had still increased 23.3 per cent for 2015.