锐客网

  1. 首页 > 科技 > >

{调取该文章的TAG关键词}|Can Taobao Livestream Afford to Lose its Top Influencer Viya?

{调取该文章的TAG关键词}|Can Taobao Livestream Afford to Lose its Top Influencer Viya?
文章图片

Famous Chinese influencer Viya was in the darkest hour of her career on December 20 when she was fined 1.341 billion yuan (US$210 million) for tax evasion. Her livestreaming channel on Taobao was subsequently banned by the platform.
Viya’s fall from her peak marks the end of a "Wild West" era for the e-commerce livestream industry, as thousands of influencers rushed to check their own tax filings to comply with relevant laws and regulations in China.
See also: China Asks Influencers to Report Tax Violation by Year End after Top Livestreamer Fined $210 Million
Internet influencer Viya, whose real name is Huang Wei, evaded 643-million-yuan in upaid taxes by declaring personal income as income for proprietorships in 2019 and 2020, according to a statement released by Hangzhou Taxation Bureau on Monday.
Viya was fined a total of 1.341 billion yuan for the 643-million-yuan tax evasion and 60-million-yuan underpaid tax. The total fines include repayment of the evaded tax, overdue charges and penalties.
Viya complied with the tax inspection and voluntarily disclosed other tax evasion offenses that the bureau was unaware of, the bureau said in the announcement.
She later said on Weibo that she fully agreed with the authorities’ decisions and would work to pay the fine. She apologized in her statement.
Besides the huge fine, Viya and her team are also struggling to handle the backlash from livestreaming platforms and the public. Viya’s livestreaming channel on Taobao, through which she promoted and sold products to consumers, were banned. Her Weibo account was also inactivated by the platform.
As one of the most popular influencers in China, Viya was known for her ability to sell literally anything through her livestreaming channel. Around 8.25 billion yuan worth of orders were placed through her livestreaming channel on Taobao at the Double Eleven Shopping Festival Pre-Sale event that took place on October 20, breaking records. Viya also ranked first with 31.09 billion yuan in sales on the iiMedia Research 2020 Top 5 Chinese E-Commerce Livestreamer Chart, leading far ahead of runners-up Austin Li and Xin Youzhi.
This is not the first time for tax inspection authorities to probe into tax evasion offenses from influencers in China.
Popular influencers Cherie and Lin Shanshan were also fined 65.55 million yuan and 27.67 million yuan respectively for tax evasion on November 22. Hangzhou Taxation Bureau detected anomalies in their tax filings through big data analysis and initiated investigations that eventually led to discovery of their offenses.
Both Cherie and Lin Shanshan were canceled on the Internet after the news broke out. Many of their social media accounts and online shops were banned.
“This (Viya’s case) is a wake-up call to every influencer in the livestreaming business,” China News Service pointed out in an article. “This is a serious lesson for every influencer. They must comply with the tax law as they grow their wealth.”
Viya’s fall from grace is a potential catalyst that will discipline the industry and lay a crucial cornerstone for the industry to develop in the future.
Tax inspection authorities are expected to continue cracking down on the e-commerce livestream business and bringing order to the industry.
A turning point for e-commerce livestreamE-commerce livestream started to gain traction in 2016. The proliferation of smartphones and 4G network in China enabled the rise of thousands of livestreaming platforms in China in that year. Livestreaming channels became virtual spaces where consumers shop and purchase goods.
In March 2016, e-commerce giant Taobao unveiled its livestreaming platform Taobao Livesteam, which got its separate app in 2019. Users started to see e-commerce livestreaming content on TikTok’s Chinese sister Douyin and Kuaishou in 2018.

推荐阅读


上一篇：镜头|如你所愿，手机厂商终于要砍掉前置镜头了？

下一篇：投稿|有了疫苗与特效药，为什么Omicron还是值得担心？