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China slapped an unprecedented $210 million fine on a top livestreamer for tax evasion, stepping up President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on online influencers who have grown wildly popular in recent years.
Huang Wei — also known as Viya — was ordered to pay 1.34 billion yuan in back taxes, late fees and fines, the State Taxation Administration said Monday in a statement on its website. She avoided taxes totaling 643 million yuan by concealing personal income and making false declarations in 2019 and 2020, the statement added.
Shares in China’s largest livestreaming operators and services plunged in New York, with Bilibili Inc. diving 11.6%, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. falling 5.8% and Joyy Inc. sliding 4.7%.
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Huang issued an apology just after the punishment was announced, saying on her Twitter-like Weibo account that she felt “deeply guilty.” “I totally accept the decision of the tax regulator and will actively collect funds to pay the fines within the deadline,” she wrote.
Viya’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The fine is the biggest yet for online salespeople like Viya, who each night compete to convince shoppers to spend millions of dollars on items such as cosmetics, appliances and clothing. The influencer is one of the biggest stars on Alibaba’s Taobao marketplace, drawing traffic and driving consumption.
Government departments need to better coordinate and boost efforts to regulate the livestreaming industry and crack down on tax evasion, the official Xinhua News Agency said in a report Tuesday.
Using data analysis, the tax bureau in the city of Hangzhou suspected Huang had evaded taxes, and she failed to rectify the situation after repeated reminders, the report said.
The episode signals Beijing is turning its attention to the online streaming commerce arena, which has thrived with little regulation in recent years, as part of Xi’s common prosperity drive to share the wealth. The…
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Source : time
