(Bloomberg) — China has fined another live-streaming personality for tax evasion, expanding a probe that’s ensnared some of the country’s most popular influencers and disrupted e-commerce at Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
Ping Rong, a Guangzhou-based live-streamer, was fined 62 million yuan ($9.8 million) for evading taxes in 2019 and 2020, the State Taxation Administration said in a statement. The influencer commanded a following of about 24 million fans on the video platform Kuaishou Technology. As of Tuesday afternoon, Ping didn’t show up on in-app searches.
The crackdown on China’s booming live-streaming sector marks an escalation in President Xi Jinping’s campaign against illegal sources of income, part of a “common prosperity” drive that aims to narrow the wealth gap. Celebrities have been targeted by tax authorities, as the drive to redistribute income dovetails with a broader clampdown on the entertainment industry for promoting “improper” idol culture. A Kuaishou spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.
“We will strengthen analyzing big data in tax collection and improve tax regulations targeting live-streamers,” said the local taxation bureau of Guangzhou, a city in the country’s south.
Live-streaming has in past years become key to enticing and retaining buyers on online platforms from Alibaba’s Taobao to Kuaishou.
The latest penalty came after the watchdog fined top live-streamer Viya a record $210 million in December, accusing her of concealing personal income and making false declarations. A month prior, authorities fined two live-streamers in Hangzhou nearly $15 million in total for illegally booking employment income as business income. All three have suspended their work and haven’t re-appeared in live-streaming studios since.
Tax authorities asked celebrities to voluntarily report wrongdoing in exchange for lighter punishment in September, after announcing a new round of tax checks. More than 1,000 live-streamers and workers in other fledgling industries have voluntarily paid back taxes since.
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