Tax increase a ‘major decision’

Vice chairman of Galaxy Francis Lui considers the possibility of a tax increase on gaming from 39 per cent to 43 per cent a major decision, which will require a careful approach by the Macau Government.
“Concerning a possible tax increase, the government said that they are not considering reviewing it right now. We are realistic to say that the government will look into all aspects before any decision. This is a major decision and the Executive will be very careful before they decide,” Mr. Lui said, before explaining that neither he nor any member of his team had any information on the intention of the government raising taxes.
“This is not a small business so the government is going to be very careful,” he added. The process to renew gaming licences in Macau will start to be discussed this year.
The son of Lui Che Woo also commented on the slowdown of the VIP industry in Macau and the fact that some junket companies are closing rooms in some casinos.
“We don’t feel the VIP downturn because we’ve been going in the right direction for some time. Our principle is that we always do business with the larger VIP promoters. And so far, if you look at our results for the past year you can actually see that it is still growing,” he said. “I really don’t want to comment on particular cases but overall the Galaxy VIP segment is doing quite well,” he said.