Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign is now targeting the glamour icons of the entertainment industry. On Wednesday, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported that megastar Fan Bingbing, whose earnings are only second to that of Jackie Chan, will have to cough out $129 million in unpaid taxes and fines.
Ms. Fan, 37, has a famous national and international profile. She stars in the well-known X-man and Iron-Man film franchises. Her next film, Air Strike , known in China as Unbreakable Spirit, is set for an international debut this year. It is widely reported that the superstar has had tie-ups with top global brands, including Mont Blanc, the German luxury accessories heavyweight, Louis Vuitton of France, whose catwalk she has graced, as well as De Beers, the British diamond ace.
So when the Chinese tax authorities went after Ms. Fan this summer, the message was for all in the Chinese showbiz to come clean. By June, the Chinese actor disappeared from public gaze. Apparently, sleuths of the tax department took her to an undisclosed secret location to get to the bottom of her financial dealings and networks.
Her mysterious public absence, in turn, was linked to a bizarre event involving a popular presenter on state television. In May, Cui Yongyuan, a host on China Central Television, showed that Ms. Fan concealed her real taxable income through what are colourfully called Yin and Yang accounts. The Yin account that was presented to the tax authorities showed earnings of $1.6 million for the film Air Strike . But the whistleblower, who incidentally has now acquired a hero’s halo in the cyber universe of Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, showed on screen another, and real payment of the $7.8 million, which was not disclosed.
Apology from the star
Though his revelations were sensational, Mr. Cui, in a bizarre twist, backtracked from his expose. He even apologised to Ms. Fan for the transgression into her financial space. But, apparently, the damage had been done. The Chinese authorities were on the trail. Within months, the investigation was wrapped up, and by early October, the main findings of the investigation were made public. Xinhua reported that Ms. Fan had split her contract, to enable tax evasion of $1.1 million over payments for her role in Air Strike . But Ms. Fan could escape further punishment, in case she files the unpaid taxes and the heavy associated penalties. The icon posted an apology for her actions, which also praised the Communist Party of China.
“One could say that every bit of the achievement I have made cannot be separated from the support of the state and the people. Without the good policies of the Communist Party and the state, without the people’s love and care, there would be no Fan Bingbing,” she wrote. But netizens, who have been riveted to her saga, have generally not been taken in by Ms. Fan’s lengthy remorse.
Many posted online that an apology was insufficient. Instead, she should go to prison, or face blacklisting by the entertainment industry. Others grumble that Ms. Fan has got away relatively lightly because of her celebrity status. While netizens debate the case, the State Administration of Taxation has nailed the big picture. It warned that companies and individuals in the entertainment industry must voluntarily “rectify their behaviour” and pay their accumulated taxes by a December 31 deadline to escape administrative punishment and fines.
Atul Aneja works for The Hindu and is based in Beijing.
