Game livestreamer fined US$1.75 million for tax evasion

Game livestreamer Sun Zixuan, better known as Di Shi (帝师) on the Internet, has been fined 11,714,500 yuan (US$1.75 million) in penalties and overdue taxes, Beijing Municipal Tax Service announced on Thursday.

Sun failed to declare personal income tax of 1,978,600 yuan, evaded tax of 2,201,200 yuan by concealing exceptional tips income and didn't pay other taxes of 347,600 yuan between 2019 and 2020, the statement said.

The tax department said Sun didn't confess to the problem and made up amounts until the authorities had solid proof.

Sun apologized via his Weibo account, followed by 2.037 million fans, on Thursday night. He blamed himself for ignorance and little knowledge of tax law, adding he had already paid back the taxes and fines at the start of the year.

He said he didn't know a livestreamer should voluntarily declare 45 percent of their personal income tax when authorities contacted him at the end of last year.

Sun reminded other livestreamers of taking his experience as a warning and declaring taxes voluntarily.

Sun, born in 1984, was a popular livestreamer on QQ Egame, Tencent's largest mobile eSports platform. It was shut down on Tuesday.

China's top livestreamer, Huang Wei, better known as Viya, was fined 1.34 billion yuan last December in penalties and overdue taxes.