Moves to curb livestreaming malpractices

The Cyberspace Administration of China, the State Taxation Administration and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued a guideline document on Wednesday aimed at strengthening the registration and classification management of online livestreaming accounts, standardizing tax payment, and cracking down on tax-related crimes.

Selling goods through livestreaming is a common profit-making model of the livestreaming sector. The livestreaming boom in recent years plays an active role in promoting flexible employment, enriching consumption and boosting the development of the service economy.

Especially during the pandemic, selling goods through livestreaming has effectively improved the efficiency of supply and demand, facilitated internal circulation, and promoted the recovery of consumption.

However, a series of malpractices have also emerged, such as the sale of fake and shoddy products or the evasion of taxes by leading livestreaming anchors, necessitating the need to bring livestreaming under standardized supervision.

Multiple State departments had earlier issued a document to regulate the sector's development, but it mainly focused on the code of conduct in marketing.

By issuing the guideline document, the authorities aim to plug tax evasion loopholes. Since the second half of last year, the tax authorities have started cracking down on tax evaders in the sector.

Because of the diversified income composition of livestreaming anchors, it is difficult to check the tax they pay.

The verification of "non-tax "business and the sharing of bank tax information and other data are all indispensable for effective supervision.

The guideline document stipulates that the livestreaming platforms shall cooperate with related departments to provide necessary documents and data, and provide technical support for their supervision and investigation in accordance with the law. It also requires departments to establish and improve their information-sharing mechanism.

Establishing a long-term mechanism of cross-department coordinated supervision and strengthening the normative guidance of its profit-making model are not about killing the livestreaming industry, but about promoting the standardized development of this sector.