China Cracking Down on Entertainer Tax Evasion and Raising Production Taxes From 6.7% to 42%
C-ent has been abuzz for the last month over a brewing tax situation that has allegedly embroiled many of the top stars. The Chinese authorities are reportedly investigating the highest earning stars with Fan Bing Bing‘s named bandied about the most, for tax evasion stemming likely from not reporting all their earned income whether from film wages, CFs, or investments. On the heel of that report comes an additional hammer coming down with the tax authorities raising production taxes from 6.7% to 42% and as a result over 70 currently in production dramas and films have reportedly halted filming to scramble to pay the increased taxes. I’m not sure how C-ent will weather this latest tsunami but if banning time-travel could be overcome I’m sure the rich and powerful in the industry will find a way.
Others reportedly under intense scrutiny for tax evasion are Zhou Xun, Zhao Wei, Yang Mi, Zhao Li Ying, Angelababy, Huang Bo, Huang Xiaoming, Li Yi Feng, and director Feng Xiaogang.
That’s a massive tax hike. Just hope this means better productions come out of this rather then all the extortionate money going to the stars, which is a total waste.
FBB might be imprisoned for her tax evasion.
I think business structuring works anywhere even in China. Some are foolish for actually evading their tax obligation but some are smart to have their business & professional affairs structured properly that not all their income flows through as personal.
China’s dramas leave me cold, because Chinese people do not have the freedom these dramas indicate they have.
Everything that is legal in the dramas are legal in reality. China is pretty slack as long as you are not a threat to stability.
I have no idea what you think China is like, but going there for a visit will resolve a LOT of your prejudices which you seem to have may of.
I’ve worked and lived in China for 3 years. You are delusioned if you think China is slack when it comes to tv and film regulations. If you solely watch romcoms sure, there are probably not much restrictions. But try touching on Mao, Deng-era historical fiction and watch the censors at work.
Entertainer who evades tax are trash tbh, you have money why not pay taxes
Wow, all huge names on that list….probably time for a new wave of stars so they are getting rid of some with this new method..just a thought
Hang on, Time travel dramas are banned in China???
Yes. Time travel is not allowed as a plot in Chinese dramas. There was a terrible case where a young woman committed suicide in the hopes that she can time travel or go to another dimension etc. The government didn’t want copy-cat cases and therefore banned it from TV shows. However, plenty of Chinese books keeps this theme etc.
The list of celebrities names are those with the most ‘income’ and therefore being inspected. It is not a list that they are all guilty of evading tax etc. Rich people are always advised to ‘invest’ to reduce their tax burden but how they go about it or who they listen to, it all can be confusing if you don’t have good lawyers + tax people to help. I don’t know the specific laws in China on tax evasion but globally, you can see through the Panama Paper case — it’s a common practice. I’m not making excuses for the rich but just pointing out that there is this loop hole and grey area etc.
Let’s see the inspection results before jumping to conclusions. Of the list I only know that Zhao Wei is banned from trading in stock due to suspicious attempt to bid on a firm with her husband. As much as I love Zhao Wei as an actress, it doesn’t look good for her.
I think the ZW stock issue is different to this tax evasion issue. All the stars who work in China will be affected by this sudden increase in tax. China government has now turned to the entertainment world of dirty money and it might be explosive. It is still developing each day and I don’t think these stars are sleeping easy at night.
Yup….I learnt about it when they released ‘Scarlet Heart 2’. It was supposed to be a continuation of the first part,after the lead actress comes back from the past into present time and the lead couples new romance in today’s world. After most of it was shot and drama was set to release the Govt. announced the time travel ban which led to the production people editing the drama and deleting any sign of the first parts time travel. As a result the drama was a hot mess with messy and choppy editing and cuts. :/ Didn’t complete it.
Yeah it’s pretty sad. Some novel adaptations ended up having a collapse in narrative due to this. Probably because China also lacks competent scriptwriters to adapt the novel properly.
It’s techincally banned from television broadcast but the loophole is online streaming services.
These entertainers deserve it if they really did tax evasion. They are the richest of the rich, no reasons for them to hold on to that little amount of money other than greed.
For FBB this isn’t good news at all. With the mess surrounding her drama which needs to reshoot many scenes which just costs so much money.
I hope she didn’t evade any taxes. She honestly has enough money to pay taxes instead of going to prison for not doing so.
maybe it look like thanos using infinity stone for them. i really hope there no corrupt people in Chinese government so that money definitely for their country.
Hahaha, of course there is corruption in the Chinese government. It’s an open secret, all Chinese citizens know this and hate it, but it’s really really hard to solve. Corruption has plagued Chinese civilization for as long as its existence and so far there has been no real solution
I hope China can give clarity soon. I think China government is crazy if they really increase the tax that much. It will kill production company.
I am highly doubtful China will be providing any clarity in the near future on this issue. Those actors and actresses have been asking huge fees. The Chinese government is right to clamp down on them. FBB has been caught signing dodgy contracts where one says she earns so much but, in fact she is paid loads. Her manager has been interviewed by the authorities and rumour has it, she is not to appear in any C-productions for the next 3 years.
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