RWS, MBS must still invest S$9 billion or risk higher taxes: MTI

Singapore

SINGAPORE'S integrated resorts (IRs) remain committed to their investment plans, despite the knock-out blow that the novel coronavirus pandemic has landed on the industry.

Even so, a heftier tax burden still looms should either Marina Bay Sands (MBS) or Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) fall through on last year's pledge to plough a combined S$9 billion into new non-gaming attractions.

MBS agreed then to build a fourth tower with an entertainment arena, while RWS is set to expand Universal Studios Singapore and S.E.A. Aquarium, among other enhancements. Up to 5,000 jobs were expected to be added in all.

"The IRs remain invested in the future of Singapore's tourism market and are committed to delivering their expansion plans," a Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) spokesperson told The Business Times on Friday.

Yet she also affirmed that a new casino tax regime will still take effect in March 2022. The system imposes higher flat tax rates for IRs that fail to meet their investment commitments.

That's even while question marks loom over the health of the two IRs, as the Covid-19 pandemic curtails international travel and batters demand.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) let attractions reopen only this month, after they shuttered in April to help curb the spread of the virus.

But, just a fortnight after reopening, RWS turned to a "one-off" retrenchment exercise on Wednesday, amid a broad sectoral depression.

Still, the MTI spokesperson told BT that there are no plans "at present" to extend the lower tax rates that casinos now enjoy - a flat 5 per cent on gross premium gaming revenue and 15 per cent on mass gaming income. The moratorium on these rates is set to expire in end-February 2022, with rates to increase thereafter.

Neither do the authorities intend to push back the exclusivity period of the two IRs' casinos. The IRs recently bagged an extension up to end-2030, on the back of their investment pledges, and no other casinos can be introduced in Singapore until then.

Sightseeing, entertainment and gaming contributed close to S$6 billion in tourism receipts last year - up from S$3.42 billion in 2010, when RWS and MBS opened their doors. The STB set up a public-private tourism recovery action task force in February to develop a plan for the future of the sector, which makes up 4 per cent of the Singapore economy.

The spokesperson for MTI also told BT that the ministry "will continue to engage the IRs on their recovery efforts and expansion plans".