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China tech crackdown: no more tax-free riches for live-streaming stars as Beijing tightens oversight

  • Platforms need to deduct personal income tax for live streamers, a move that could translate into hefty tax payments for online influencers
  • The new guidelines also prohibit exaggerated or misleading marketing practices in live streams

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Live streamer Viya Huang Wei on the e-commerce platform Taobao, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, April 16, 2019. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

China’s newly published live-streaming regulations are set to put an end to live-streamers’ dreams of tax-free riches, according to legal analysts.

Under new rules jointly issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China, State Administration of Tax, and State Administration for Market Regulation, platforms are required to provide twice-yearly reports on their live-streamers, including information such as personal identification, bank account and income details.

Under the regulation, which came into effect on Wednesday, platforms also need to deduct personal income tax from live-streamers’ revenue, a move that could translate into hefty tax payments for online influencers.

“The guidelines have put an end to the era of live-streamers making money without much effort,” said Wang Yang, a lawyer at Yingke Law Firm. “Live-streamers can only earn money they deserve … rather than getting rich overnight.”

Unlike previous guidelines where regulators would just advise people to “pay taxes properly”, Wang said the new rules provide a precise mechanism for collecting taxes.

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