By the end of April, Macau had spent 23.1 billion patacas (2.44 billion euros), or 21.2% of the full-year budget, according to data published online by the Financial Services Bureau (DSF). This is despite spending on social assistance and subsidies having grown by nearly 9%, to 12.7 billion patacas (1.34 billion euros).
The budget approved in November includes tax incentives to attract investment fund management companies, special investment funds, and fund investors, to help develop the financial sector. In addition, the government exempted residents from stamp duty on the purchase of their first home, up to six million patacas (633,000 euros), in a document that provided for a 4.3% increase in social support and subsidies.
In July, Macau’s legislature had already approved a government proposal to increase the projected expenditures in the 2025 budget by 2.86 billion patacas (301.7 million euros) to bolster social support. The revision includes the creation of a subsidy totaling 54,000 patacas (about 5,700 euros) for children up to age 3, in an effort to boost the world’s lowest birth rate.
The main reason for the decline in spending was public works – the Government’s Investment and Expenditure Plan (PIDDA) – which fell by 17.4% through April to 4.66 billion patacas (491.4 million euros). This year’s budget had already projected an 8.6% decline in PIDDA, which includes major projects such as the East Line of the light rail system, which will reach the main border with mainland China in the north of the Macau Peninsula.
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Expenditures on civil servants also fell by 2.1%, to 4.83 billion patacas (508.9 million euros), after civil servants received no pay raise in 2026 for the second consecutive year.
At the end of 2025, the region’s civil service had 33,856 employees, 325 fewer than in 2024, according to official data. The statistics do not reveal how many hold Portuguese nationality, noting only that 226 were born in Portugal.
In contrast to public spending, Macau’s current revenue rose by 17.6% in the first four months of 2026, to 40.3 billion patacas (4.25 billion euros). The main reason for the increase was a 16.9% rise, to 34.9 billion patacas (3.68 billion euros), in gaming tax revenue – which accounts for 84.5% of the total.
The city’s six gaming operators pay a direct tax of 35% on gaming revenue, with 2.4% allocated to the Macao Social Security Fund and for urban and tourism development, and 1.6% contributed to the Macao Foundation for cultural, educational, scientific, academic, and philanthropic purposes.
Total revenue from Macau’s casinos reached 85.8 billion patacas (9.05 billion euros) between January and April, a 12.1% increase compared to the same period last year. With expenses falling and revenues rising, the region recorded a public budget surplus of 18.2 billion patacas (1.92 billion euros), 72.1% higher than in April 2025.
In the budget for the full year 2026, the Macau government had projected a much smaller surplus of 5.22 billion patacas (550.6 million euros). Macau ended 2025 with a public budget surplus of 19.9 billion patacas (2.09 billion euros), 26.1% higher than the previous year.
