China says celebrities have 10 days to cough up unpaid taxes

BEIJING • China's tax authorities have set a 10-day deadline for entertainers and social media influencers to pay overdue taxes, part of a government campaign to tighten the noose on tax evasion and celebrity excesses.

Beijing has launched a sweeping state crackdown on tax evasion and perceived immoral behaviour in the entertainment industry, a tightening that has already targeted some of China's biggest stars.

Tax bureaus in several entertainment hubs across the country - including Beijing, Shanghai and the provinces of Guangdong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu - warned that celebrities who have under-reported earnings could face severe penalties if they do not refile by the end of the year, according to government notices issued on Wednesday.

"If the self-inspection and self-correction are still refused or... not thorough, the taxation department will seriously deal with it," a statement from the Guangdong tax office said.

The order comes after China's "live-streaming queen" Viya, whose real name is Huang Wei, was ordered to pay a record US$200 million (S$272 million) fine for tax evasion on Monday. Her social media accounts with more than 110 million followers were shut down a day later.

Chinese actress Zheng Shuang was also hit with a US$46 million fine for tax evasion in August.

Actress Fan Bingbing's career has been on ice since a 2018 tax evasion scandal. Fan, 40, was one of China's highest-paid actresses before her downfall and had appeared in movies such as X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014) and I Am Not Madame Bovary (2016).

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has said it has "zero tolerance" for tax evasion and entertainers' "sky-high pay".

The tightening coincides with the launch of President Xi Jinping's "common prosperity" drive to reduce economic inequality - partly by reining in excessive incomes in the entertainment and technology sectors.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE