Celebrities should pay due taxes

News that the tax authorities slapped a fine of 106 million yuan ($16.7 million) on actor Deng Lun for unpaid taxes, overdue fees exploded on Chinese social networking sites on Tuesday.

Netizens could not digest the fact that a celebrity like Deng could evade taxes even after other celebrities have fallen in trouble in recent days for similar offences. Just last December, livestreamer Huang Wei, who is widely known as Viya, was fined 1.341 billion yuan and before her actress Zheng Shuang fined 299 million yuan for tax evasions.

In 2019 and 2020, Deng had evaded about 60 million yuan in taxes through false declaration of income nature. Deng voluntarily declared 44.55 million yuan in income when the Shanghai tax authority conducted a tax data analysis. However, he still chose to hide part of his personal income, specifically 3.1 million yuan.

Brands that Deng endorses, such as home appliances manufacturer Viomi and snacks maker Jiujiuya, immediately terminated their contracts with him. Leading livestreaming platforms, such as Youku and iQiyi, too removed his name from multiple works, such as the Ashes of Love, a hit TV series.

Furthermore, some of his social media accounts have been blocked. It seems near impossible the small screen star can ever revive his career. However, few feel sorry for him. And this should serve as a warning to other celebrities to honestly pay taxes for every cent they have earned or risk the end of their career, the harshest possible punishment for violating the tax law.

At the same time, celebrities repeatedly evading taxes to the tune of amounts that ordinary people can’t even fathom shows the depth of the problem and calls for a more comprehensive sweep of the whole industry.

Misconduct by not only the celebrities, but also their brokerage firms, should be investigated and those responsible held accountable.

Also, given the influence they wield in society, especially on young minds, celebrities should obey the law by all means. This is the least that everyone expects from them and they should not let anyone down.

The author is a writer with China Daily.