Inspectors are investigating the cases against the actress and livestreamer in detail after failing to remedy the situation
Tax authorities have pledged to step up oversight of the entertainment industry after a popular actress and an internet influencer were hit with hefty fines for tax evasion.
Yuan Bingyan, a film and television actress who graduated from the prestigious Shanghai Theater Academy, was fined nearly $3 by tax authorities in Chongqing, where her company Chongqing Liyan Culture Media Co is registered, according to a statement from the state million yuan ($412,400) according to the tax administration’s website.
The fines against the 31-year-old related to tax evasion and other penalties, including late tax payments.
Chongqing Liyan Culture Media Co. was separately ordered to pay a fine of 1.32 million yuan for unpaid taxes and other penalties. According to the administration, all fines have been paid.
Last year, local tax authorities fined Chongqing Liyan Culture Media Co. 978,000 yuan for tax misconduct.
Suspecting tax fraud, local tax authorities reminded Yuan, who held a controlling stake in the company, of her doubts and urged her to correct the situation. However, Yuan failed to fully report her wrongdoing, prompting authorities to launch a formal investigation.
The investigation found that Yuan did not declare some of her income and illegally presented her personal expenses as business expenses. The practices reduced the amount of both personal and corporate taxes, the statement said.
“The tax department will further strengthen tax supervision in the field of culture and entertainment, strictly investigate and punish tax violations in accordance with the law, constantly improve the compliance with tax laws of employees and enterprises in this field, and create a fair tax (system),” said it.
Meanwhile, “Gossip” livestreamer Wu Chuan was forced to repay a total of 13.6 million yuan, the tax administration said in a separate statement.
Wu, whose broadcasts on the short-video platform Douyu can attract up to 600,000 viewers, had evaded taxes and resisted investigations.
Better known on the platform by his pseudonym “Soul Knife God,” he evaded 8.27 million yuan in personal income tax between 2018 and 2021 through methods such as disguising income or falsifying the nature of some of his income, it said.
According to the statement, tax authorities in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where Wu is based, initially contacted the host and asked him to correct his errors. However, Wu refused to cooperate, triggering a comprehensive inspection.
The tax authorities said they would further strengthen supervision of livestream hosts, seriously investigate and punish tax-related illegal acts in accordance with the law, and promote the development and standardization of the industry.
The pair are among a growing cohort of wealthy entertainers who have faced hefty tax evasion fines in recent years as China cracks down on unreasonably high incomes as part of a national effort to promote shared prosperity.
In a high-profile case in 2018, Fan Bingbing, a top actress with 63 million followers on microblogging platform Sina Weibo, was fined 800 million yuan for evading personal and corporate taxes of up to 255 million yuan had. After the fine was announced, Fan publicly apologized and said she would overcome all difficulties and pay the fine.
On Saturday, People.cn, a news website controlled by the People’s Daily newspaper, published a commentary warning that those working in the entertainment industry should strictly abide by tax laws and never harbor ideas of tax evasion.
“Celebrities should lead the way in complying with the law and take the initiative to assume social responsibility,” it said. “Unfortunately, some people repeatedly evade taxes, ignore legal requirements and ultimately have to bear the consequences,” it said.
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