China orders actor Fan Bingbing to pay massive tax fine
- by Sara Love
- in Life&Culture
- — Oct 3, 2018
The X-Men star, who was feared to be missing after she hadn't been seen in public since July, has broken her silence following the news, in a lengthy post on Chinese social media site, Weibo.
Xinhua said an investigation by Chinese tax authorities found Fan had split her contract to evade taxes of 7.3 million yuan ($1.1 million) over payments for her role in "Air Strike", a film due to be released this year.
Regarded as China's highest-paid movie star, Fan has been a household name in China for years, with more than 62 million followers online. She is one of five leading worldwide female actors cast in the forthcoming Hollywood spy thriller 355, alongside Jessica Chastain and Penelope Cruz. Xinhua said police had put a "restriction" on Fan's agent for attempting to hide and destroy evidence during the investigations in June.
It follows speculation over the whereabouts of the actress, who appeared in X-Men: Days Of Future Past and the Chinese version of Iron Man 3.
She is one of five leading global actresses cast in the forthcoming Hollywood spy thriller "355", alongside Jessica Chastain and Penelope Cruz.
The investigation began over Fan's reported income from the upcoming film Air Strike starring Bruce Willis, Xinhua reported.
More news: Boy attacked by shark while diving for lobsters in CaliforniaFollowing the announcement, Fan returned to social media and her Weibo account to post an apology, saying she accepted the tax authorities' decision and would "try my best to overcome all difficulties and raise funds to pay back taxes and fines". I failed my country which nurtured me; I failed the society which trusted me; I failed the fans who loved me. In the statement, she claimed she felt "ashamed that I committed tax evasion in the film Unbreakable Spirit and on other projects by taking advantage of 'yin-yang contracts.'" A "yin-yang" contract is when an actor signs two contracts for the same job: one that includes the amount they're actually paid and one that includes a lower amount to be submitted for tax purposes.
"Without the Party and country's good policies, without the loving attention of the masses, there would be no Fan Bingbing", she wrote.
It is the first update posted on her microblog since June 2.
In June, regulators capped star pay at 40% of a TV show's entire production budget and 70% of the total paid to all the actors in a film.
After the contract documents went viral, the national tax administration announced it had instructed authorities in eastern Jiangsu province to investigate alleged use of such dual contracts in the entertainment industry.
Talk show host Cui Yongyuan had said in May that Fan had such an arrangement, which allegedly helps facilitate tax evasion, and revealed details that sparked a public outcry.
