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Q: Pay your Taxes or else
Fans Concerned After 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' Star Goes Missing
By PATRICK CAVANAUGH - August 1, 2018
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Celebrities are known to take breaks from social media for a number of reasons, though in the case of X-Men: Days of Future Past star Fan Bingbing, the actress' mysterious departure has people worrying that this might be more than just a social media sabbatical.
Bingbing, who played Blink in the X-Men film, is one of the highest paid actresses in the world, though reportedly hasn't been seen in public since visiting a children's hospital in China on July 1st. On the Sina Weibo social media service, Bingbing has 62 million followers, yet hasn't been active on the service since July 23rd. Her last activity on the service was "liking" a number of different posts, with the time since seeing no activity whatsoever.
The actress' most recent post was on June 2nd, with her millions of fans replying to that message in hopes of getting some sort of response. Her notoriety on the service prior to June and seeming disappearance immediately seemed odd to her fans, with many of them pleading with her for any sort of acknowledgment of her whereabouts.
One theory regarding her whereabouts ties into possible tax evasion. Back in May, a popular TV host accused Bingbing of the criminal activity, with her studio denying these claims, while also leaving fans in the dark about her seclusion.
The speculation about her tax evasion stems from "yin-yang" contracts, which the BBC describes as "dual contracts in which one sets out an actor's real earnings, and another details a lower figure, with the latter submitted to the tax authorities."
Once these tax evasion allegations began to pick up steam, her studio responded, "The studio and Fan Bingbing will fully cooperate with the relevant authority. We hope the investigation result can be released soon to answer the public doubt."
On July 26th, the Economic Observerreported that Bingbing's staff were being questioned by authorities about the matter and that her brother was prevented from leaving the country. Many posts on Sina Weibo that referenced this article were also taken down, possibly due to censorship from the government hoping to avoid complicating the process further.
Of all the theories circulating about Bingbing's whereabouts, they are all focused on the investigation as opposed to implying any sort of physical danger for the actress, which should come as a relief to many.
Stay tuned to learn more about the actress' location.
6COMMENTS
What do you think caused Bingbing to leave the social media service? Let us know in the comments below!
[H/T BBC]
5 years 37 weeks ago in Health & Safety - China
The problem is all government workers driving an Audi that cost more than the yearly salary they receive and paid cash with no financing. Don't dig too deep, you may not like what you find.
The problem is all government workers driving an Audi that cost more than the yearly salary they receive and paid cash with no financing. Don't dig too deep, you may not like what you find.
Maybe the government have caught up to her double contract to cheat the government out of tax.
I'm not really surprised. Tax avoidance is a common thing everywhere.
Viki87:
Exactly, who didn't avoid tax? The government just do on fan purposely
Chinese tax authorities have ordered "X-Men" star Fan Bingbing and companies she represents to pay taxes and penalties for about $180 million but would spare her from criminal prosecution, state media said.
The announcement ended months of speculation over one of China's highest-profile entertainers since she disappeared from public view three months ago amid reports she was being investigated for tax fraud.
Of the total amount, Fan is being personally fined about $97 million for tax evasion.
The official Xinhua News Agency cited tax authorities as saying Fan would not be held criminally accountable for tax evasion as the taxes, fines and late fees amounting to nearly 900 million yuan ($180 million) were paid on time.
The announcement, carried by Xinhua, gave no indication as to Fan's whereabouts but indicated her agent was being held by police for allegedly obstructing the investigation.
(AAP)
Fan has starred in dozens of movies and TV series in China and is best known internationally for her role as Blink in 2014's "X-Men: Days of Future Past," a cameo in the Chinese version of "Iron Man 3," and star turns on the red carpet at Cannes as recently as May.
Before her disappearance, she had been booked to star with Penelope Cruz in the Hollywood film "355".
She also has a role in the upcoming Bruce Willis-Adrien Brody feature "Air Strike."
Fan posted an apology on her official account on the social media site Weibo.com saying she accepts the tax authorities' decision and would "try my best to overcome all difficulties and raise funds to pay back taxes and fines".
"I am unworthy of the trust of the society and let down the fans who love me," she wrote in her first update of her Weibo.com microblog since June 2.
A man surnamed Liang, who identified himself as a staff member of Fan's studio when reached by phone, refused to comment on the announcement or on Fan's location.
Her disappearance coincided with a crackdown by the authorities on high salaries for actors that can eat up much of the cost of a production.
icnif77:
I'll ban & punish you all ... 
https://www.yahoo.com/news/china-punishes-taxmen-investigated-superstar-fan-113927634.html
Officials who investigated Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing for tax evasion have been punished for poor management, state media reported Monday.
At least five people have been disciplined, including the head of the taxation bureau in the eastern city of Wuxi, where Fan's company is based, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The State Administration of Taxation (might be 'SATEA', hi hi!) has instructed the provincial tax bureau in Jiangsu to "hold accountable" those involved in Fan's case for poor management, Xinhua said, before going on to list a number of individuals who have been issued with official and verbal warnings about their shortcomings.
But the statement offered little detail about what led to the punishment.
I pay tax in China. Its the only place I earn so its the only place I pay tax. And the tax is pretty high. I think about 30%.
The UK is higher. About 33% when I was there, but that included national insurance that covered heath, pension and unemployment.
I had a meeting with HR a while ago over tax stuff at my request. Nothing major.
But I was told I should have been paying chinese social security since 2012. They said I owed backpayments of hundreds of thousands.
F off was my reaction. PAYEE and all that.
Company insisted I need pay it. Up to me to know and understand chinese law. Wow.
Cut long story short, thanks to sites such as this, I proved them wrong.
But watch out if you are employed by an EU company and are paid both there and here. Most EU countries have tax deals with China.
I have come across instances where Chinese HR understate earnings to reduce tax. But EU HR are honest and report all earnings. Shocking tax bills result.
Chinese social security by the way is approx 1 months wages of what you earned in the previous year. And you cant claim back on it. Need a Chinese ID card to do that.
So, moral of the story... no matter how honest and carefull one is, there might be someone somewhere thinking they are doing you a favour by trying to cheat the system on your behalf.
Cos gotta cheat the system no matter what.
philbravery:
Wow...it must be in the culture to get others in trouble. . So besides staying away from China ..how can you earn money in China without getting in the shit at every turn?
