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China Caps Actors Salaries Due To Tax Evasion And Money Worship

China Caps Actors Salaries Due To Tax Evasion And Money Worship


According to a joint notice from five government agencies in China, the salaries of on-screen performers will be capped at 40% of total product costs, while leading actors should not receive more than 70% of the total wages for the cast. The notice comes from groups such as China’s tax authority, the propaganda department, and the television and film regulator.

This comes after a number of Chinese celebrities have allegedly been signing contracts for a smaller amount than they’re actually being paid for, which is being used for tax evasion. Last month Chinese TV presenter Cui Yongyuan uploaded photographs of a contract which is believed to belong to Fan Bingbing, one of China’s highest paid actresses. The images included two contracts; one for $1.56 million and the other for $7.8 million – it is believed that the lower contract is the one that is being reported for tax purposes, thus the actor will not be paying taxes on the remaining $6.2 million

Bingbing denied the accusation Yongyuan made, however Yongyuan also accused other Chinese celebrities of doing the same thing. The salaries of actors and actresses in China has become a growing concern for Chinese citizens, as one Weibo user wrote “society has given them too much and look at what they give back.” Others were supportive of the new salary caps, however are skeptical that any change will actually come; “thunder sounds loud while the raindrops are small. Other departments have made such announcements before.

Chinese authorities implemented the salary cap after believing the entertainment industry in China is encouraging money worship and distorting social values. In Jiangsu province, where Bingbing runs a studio, tax authorities are launching an investigation into tax evasion by “certain film and television professionals as alleged in online discussions.