Cover Story: Chinese Livestreamers’ Tax Evasion Calls for Systematic Tax Reform

China’s recent record fine on a top celebrity livestreamer signals that the authorities are tightening taxation on high-income individuals, but to close a loophole that enables tax evasion in the booming but underregulated sector, a formal tax system revamp is necessary, tax experts said.

Huang Wei, one of the highest-earning livestreamers, known online as “Weiya,” was ordered to pay 1.34 billion yuan ($210 million) in back taxes, late fees, and fines after tax authorities in the eastern city of Hangzhou found she avoided taxes totaling 643 million yuan in 2019 and 2020.