Fan Bingbing evading taxes? Chinese authorities to investigate

Chinese actress Fan Bingbing is reportedly facing investigation over allegations of tax evasion. PHOTO: AFP

BEIJING - An online furore over Fan Bingbing's earnings has spilled over into the taxation arena.

An online post in People's Daily said the actress is to "face investigation from Wuxi taxation bureau in Jiangsu province after online tip-off accused the celebrity of tax evasion by signing different contracts to gain as much as 60 million yuan for a four-day movie shooting".

That sum is equivalent to S$12.5 million.

The post does not identify the person who provided the tip-off.

But Chinese netizens were in a tizzy last week when TV presenter-producer Cui Yongyuan posted screenshots of Fan's alleged employment contract.

It mentioned that she would earn 10 million yuan, with the A-lister also entitled to perks like cars and her own makeup artist.

Cui dropped another bombshell when he said there was another contract which would pay her 50 million yuan.

Fan was recently named in a list of Chinese actresses who could command more than 80 million yuan per project, alongside others like Sun Li, Yang Mi and Zhou Dongyu.

The 2017 Forbes China Celebrity List estimated that Fan earned 300 million yuan.

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