名不副實的自由港──近代葡澳政府管理澳門貿易舉措述評

In the top-level design of the Free Port of Macau, the Portuguese government presupposed the addition and restriction of many provisions, such as increasing tax and restricting free trade. The government enforced taxation on Chinese people living in Macao, and fully implemented the trade management policy of tax-inclusive franchise as an alternative measure to ensure continued growth of fiscal revenue after the Portugal free port exemption from tariffs. The tax-inclusive farmers used the privilege granted by the government to implement exclusive monopoly operations in the industry and formed an institutional obstacle to local free trade. The Portuguese government embezzled Macao’s fiscal surplus for spending of its own and on overseas colonies, resulting in a long-term lack of infrastructure such as finance, insurance, warehousing and port dredging in the Free Port of Macau, which created a functional barrier to local free trade. These two major obstacles adversely affected the internal vitality and external competitiveness of the economy of modern Macao, causing Macao to fall into the predicament of a dependent economy.