Movie star Deng Lun evaded taxes, with fines in the hundreds of millions to ponder!
[4] Compiled from: Red Star News
Case review
Recently, based on clues in tax supervision, the Fourth Inspection Bureau of the Shanghai Taxation Bureau, through further analysis using tax big data, found that Deng Lun is suspected of tax evasion and has conducted a comprehensive and in-depth tax inspection of him in accordance with the law.
Upon investigation, it was found that Deng Lun, during the period from 2019 to 2020, made false declarations by fictitiously converting the nature of business income, evading personal income tax of 47.6582 million yuan, and underpaying other personal income tax by 13.9932 million yuan.
During the tax inspection process, Deng Lun actively cooperated with the inspection and voluntarily made a supplementary tax payment of 44.5503 million yuan, while also proactively reporting tax-related violations that the tax authorities had not yet discovered. Taking the above circumstances into comprehensive consideration, the Fourth Inspection Bureau of the Shanghai Tax Bureau, in accordance with the "Individual Income Tax Law of the People's Republic of China," the "Tax Collection and Administration Law of the People's Republic of China," the "Administrative Penalty Law of the People's Republic of China," and other relevant laws and regulations, and following the "Shanghai Tax Administrative Penalty Discretionary Standards," pursued the recovery of taxes, levied late fees, and imposed a fine on Deng Lun, totaling 106 million yuan. Among this, for the 44.5503 million yuan that was falsely declared due to fabricated business and income conversion but voluntarily self-reported and supplemented, a fine of 0.5 times was imposed, amounting to 22.2752 million yuan; for the 3.1079 million yuan that was falsely declared due to fabricated business and income conversion but not voluntarily self-reported and supplemented, a fine of 4 times was imposed, amounting to 12.4316 million yuan. Recently, the Fourth Inspection Bureau of the Shanghai Tax Bureau has lawfully delivered the tax administrative penalty decision to Deng Lun.
Article 63, Paragraph 1 of the Tax Collection and Administration Law
For taxpayers who evade taxes, the tax authorities shall recover the unpaid or underpaid taxes and late fees, and impose a fine ranging from 50% to five times the amount of unpaid or underpaid taxes.
[1] The author's perspective
In recent years, celebrities and internet influencers have been increasingly involved in tax evasion, with each wave more severe than the last. Previously, there were Fan Bingbing and Zheng Shuang; now there are Viya and Deng Lun. The amounts of evaded taxes often reach tens of millions or even hundreds of millions. Once discovered, not only can their personal careers be ruined, but they also face massive fines and compensation for breach of contract. Therefore, the author has the following two reminders:
First, look beyond the surface to see the deeper issues. The taxes evaded by these traffic-driven stars and internet celebrities are so enormous because their incomes exceed normal levels. The pay for a single film can reach tens of millions, an amount unimaginable for ordinary people and even unattainable by older generations of actors. But have these traffic stars truly contributed labor value equivalent to their earnings? Moreover, in their moments of great gain, they have not fulfilled their obligations as taxpayers; instead, they rack their brains trying to figure out how to evade taxes. In contrast, ordinary workers earn meager incomes, creating a huge gap compared to these young stars, which is a true manifestation of social injustice. These incidents should prompt active reflection from society and the government, using legislation and political regulations to achieve social equity, not just in the entertainment industry, but in other fields as well, in order to achieve social fairness.
Second, regardless of the type of work or source of income, paying taxes according to the law is a responsibility and duty that every citizen must fulfill. Deng Lun's recent penalty of over ten million in taxes should serve as a warning to the general public. In today's big data era, not only does the internet have a memory, but tax systems also leave traces. Therefore, tax inspections and exposure will become a routine practice, and one should not harbor any luck-based mindset.
