Top Chinese film and television actress Zheng Shuang has been fined a whopping USD 46.1 million for tax evasion. The Shanghai Municipal Tax Service fined Shuang on Friday for tax evasion and undeclared income between 2019 and 2020 while filming a TV series. The move comes amid China’s new policy for reducing the wealth gap.
The ruling Communist Party of China headed by President Xi Jinping has framed a new policy making common prosperity the central theme during the current five-year plan. This is to tackle the widening income inequality, rising debt levels and slowing consumption.
The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has accused the actress of taking advantage of “sky-high pay” and “yin-yang contracts” to escape tax. It has also asserted that it had “zero tolerance” for tax evasion.
For the unversed, The “yin and yang” contract refers to two documents made for the same agreement－the true document is kept between the two parties while the other containing a lower declared salary is presented to tax agencies to minimise taxation.
National Radio and Television Administration has also announced that all programmes in which Shuang has participated should be taken off the air.
Zheng Shuang had earlier faced public criticism over the surrogacy scandal. There were allegations that she abandoned her two surrogate babies in the US earlier this year.
China’s entertainment industry is facing major challenges this year. The government is cracking the whip on them. Several celebrities, who have violated the law or have moral taints got their works removed from online platforms, state-run Global Times reported.
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