Tax authorities crackdown on evaders

The taxation bureaus of Zhejiang, Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces, as well as those in Beijing and Shanghai, made similar announcements on Wednesday asking celebrities and e-commerce livestreamers to strictly follow the China's tax laws. 

"Many celebrities in the entertainment industry and livestreamers have paid an overdue tax to the taxation authorities since September when the national taxation authority asked people to look closely at themselves to determine whether or not they were evading taxes," the Beijing Taxation Bureau said on its website. 

The bureaus are asking people who owe taxes to report before Dec 31. Otherwise, the authorities will take strict steps to enforce the tax laws. 

On Monday, the Hangzhou taxation bureau ordered Huang Wei, popularly known online as Viya, to pay 1.34 billion yuan ($210 million) in back taxes, late fees and fines for tax evasion.

After scrutinizing Huang's tax report for 2019 and 2020, officials said she had falsely declared her livestreaming commissions as revenues earned from the forged business of multiple proprietorships and partnerships in Shanghai. 

According to the authorities, Huang also concealed some commissions and did not report personal income from other businesses, thereby evading or underpaying at least 643 million yuan of taxes.