The U.S.-based Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank, has ranked Macau 100 for “fiscal health,” the same as Hong Kong, and superior to Taiwan (91.6), Singapore (80) and Mainland China (76).
In its 2019 Index of Economic Freedom report, the foundation noted that Macau’s overall tax burden equals 25 percent of total domestic income and over the past three years the local government’s expenditure has amounted to 17.9 percent of GDP, with budget surpluses averaging 12.6 percent of GDP.
According to a report on the study in the Macau Post Daily, the city’s “public debt is equivalent to 0.0 percent of GDP” and its “economic freedom” score is 71.0, making its economy the 34th “freest” globally in the 2019 index, ranking among the world’s “mostly free” economies which include the U.S., Japan, Germany and the U.K.
“Its overall score has increased by 0.1 point, with higher scores for monetary freedom and tax burden exceeding a decline in the score for government integrity,” the report said, adding that Macau ranks ninth among 43 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region, “and its overall score is above the regional and world averages.”
Globally, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand ranked first, second and third. Taiwan was fifth and Mainland China 20th in the Asia Pacific region. Sri Lanka was last in the region at No. 25. Macau came in 34th among the 180 countries and territories ranked by the index. Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea brought up the rear at 178th, 179th and 180th respectively. North Korea’s fiscal health is ranked 0.0.
Echoing Beijing’s assessment of Macau, the HF report says the SAR’s “booming casino industry” is challenged by “money-laundering risks and the need to diversify the economy and reduce dependence on gaming revenue.” It said gaming-related taxes make up about 80 percent of government revenues and high-rollers still account for more than half of gaming revenue, so “attracting more middle-class visitors is crucial to future growth.”
Meanwhile, André Cheong Weng Chon, head of the city’s Commission against Corruption commented recently on the Transparency International index for 2018, which indicated a decline in Macau’s ranking.
“I noticed that between 2009 and 2016, the global rankings of Macau’s corruption perception index were about 40 to 50” for least corrupt region or country. “But in 2017, the ranking suddenly dropped to over 100, and this year the ranking seems to be even worse.” Cheong said the drop occurred because of a change in the organization’s “criteria for scoring.”
“Because Macau is too small, and since some statistics could not be provided, the organization didn’t believe or didn’t ask the government to provide the information, but it collected statistics from NGOs,” said Cheong, adding that “because the association could not collect some of the information, it could not evaluate the score.
“From the CCAC’s point of view, this kind of survey is good for forming a clean society, especially at a global level,” Cheong added. “Regardless of whether the ranking is high or low, the CCAC pays attention to it, and we will use it as a reference, hoping to push forward Macau’s clean government development.”
And the Central People’s Government Liaison Office in Macau Director Fu Ziying applauded Macau’s “very extraordinary” achievements in its development over the past 20 years, since its handover from Portuguese control. Fu acknowledged the local government’s efforts to promote the “moderate diversification” of the economy and support employment. He noted improvements in the city’s disaster preparedness and urged the local government to develop a long-term, robust vision for Macau.
