Chinese influencer fined $288m for tax evasion

BEIJING • China's "queen of live-streaming" has been fined 1.34 billion yuan (S$288 million) for tax evasion, the tax authorities said yesterday.

Internet celebrity Viya, whose real name is Huang Wei, was fined for hiding personal income and other offences in 2019 and 2020, according to the tax bureau in Hangzhou in eastern China.

She later apologised. "I'm deeply sorry about my violations of the tax laws and regulations," she said on her Weibo account. "I thoroughly accept the punishment made by the tax authorities."

Viya, 36, is known for her ability to sell "anything" via live-streaming on the Taobao Live platform. Last year, she sold a rocket launch service for 40 million yuan.

She is the latest celebrity live-streamer to get caught up in a broad crackdown that initially targeted tech monopolies but has since gone on to take aim at private education, social media platforms and the culture of celebrity.

Before the crackdown, tax evasion, an age-old practice among China's celebrities, had already sunk the careers of several well-known figures in the entertainment industry.

Viya, however, represents a new generation of celebrities whose meteoric rise to fame has been powered by the equally dizzying growth of China's e-commerce sector, many aspects of which have come under regulatory scrutiny.

The State Taxation Administration issued a notice in September, announcing measures to strengthen tax administration in the entertainment sector, including live-streamers.

Last month, two e-commerce live-streaming influencers were reported to be under investigation for personal tax evasion and were together fined nearly 100 million yuan. Their live-streaming services have since been ended.

REUTERS