Expert: More needs to be known and done instead of putting Fan Bingbing behind the bars

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Chinese megastar Fan Bingbing has been fined about 883 million yuan for tax evasion. The case has shed light on the murky world of dual "yin-yang" contracts and sent shockwaves throughout the Chinese entertainment industry.

After Fan admitted to tax evasion, paid a fine of more than 100 million US dollars and published apology letter, netizens are still outraged over the fact she hasn't been sent to prison, as Liu Xiaoqing did for similar illegal activities.

While guesting on CGTN's Dialogue, Edward Lehman, the managing director of Lehman, Lee & Xu, said people should differentiate between individual income tax and corporate income tax and he held the point that Fan did get the penalty she should be given according to the law.

01:40

Lehman said, "A corporation is a fictitious identity, and that is separated from individual income tax. It's very difficult for people to understand, one person can have a corporation which facilitates some movies or her benefactor of other types of activities. And then she as an individual, be a performer in the movie where she derives individual income from that."

Lehman also thought the public can only see that money is being paid to her and that she should pay individual income taxes and don't understand the details. Plus, this is not a violent crime. If Fan pays back the money and the penalty, then she really has paid for the crime.

00:52

What many people focus on is the total amount of tax Fan Bingbing has dodged. But, according to the law, she had committed criminal acts other than tax evasion.

He Jing, who is the attorney from Anjie Law Firm, unpacked Fan's case from a legal perspective, saying that each crime she has been accused of should be treated fairly and properly under the law

He thinks people may get confused about Fan's personal tax liability and points out that she is being investigated, not because of the tax problem, but because of the particular offense known as "cooking the books."

"There is the discussion right now that, as the boss of this company, shouldn't Fan Bingbing be somehow accountable or reliable for the distraction of cooking the books as well?" He said, "Maybe Fan Bingbing's problem is not totally over yet."

00:48

The results of the legal process for all Fan has done still remain to be seen, but what is crystal clear is that the Chinese megastar can't have done everything by herself. What is happening to her today could be also seen as a reminder for both the film industry and the authorities, said Teng Jimeng.

Teng also said it is high time that tax authorities should highlight the issue and use Fan Bingbing's tax evasion as a "warning shot." He didn't think it's fair to place the blame on Fan Bingbing alone, the tax authorities should also be held responsible for not implementing the correct policies or laws sooner.

Now companies in the Chinese film industry are, in Fan's words in her apology letter, scared and worried. It is very likely that this will be a milestone in the development of China's filmmaking. It could be an end to the dual “yin-yang” contract situation. And actors and actresses need to reconsider what kinds of salaries they are going to receive.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)