Classification management of network anchor taxation： how to set standards and how to design schemes？
A, classification management ideas and standard setting
Different choices of civil subjects based on network anchors, as well as different civil contract designs from platforms and brokerage companies, constitute different tax payers and different tax objects in tax law, and apply different substantive rules and collection and management procedures, which inevitably requires the introduction of hierarchical management ideas. Classified taxation management is the essential appeal and concrete embodiment of the statutory principle of taxation. Under the guidance of classification, focusing the collection and management efforts on high-income groups such as head anchors and star anchors is in line with the requirements of the principle of collection and management efficiency, and also meets the requirements of the times to play the role of tax social distribution regulation under the background of common prosperity.
How to set the standard of classification is the first question that needs to be answered. The first and bottom line standard is to classify according to the clear provisions of the tax law, and stick to the bottom line of no one size fits all.
From the main design point of view, the network anchor is either in the form of a natural person, or in the form of an individual industrial and commercial household, a sole proprietorship enterprise and other organizational forms; In terms of civil contract design, the network anchor either signs a labor contract or business contract with the live broadcast platform, or signs a contract with a brokerage company and forms a tripartite relationship with the live broadcast platform; From the type of income, the main income is labor remuneration and business income (including the business income of natural persons, individual industrial and commercial households and sole proprietorship enterprises), and under special circumstances, it is salary income. If a company is established, it should also be taxed according to enterprise income tax.
It is necessary to combine the above various civil subjects and their different contract types, and carry out classified collection and management in accordance with the clear provisions of the tax law, including income tax and value-added tax. The bottom line that needs to be grasped is that we can’t blindly make a one-size-fits-all approach, that is, unify the collection and management according to a certain subject type and contract type.
A more guiding standard is to classify according to the amount of income, and advocate the establishment of individual industrial and commercial households, sole proprietorship enterprises and other organizations for high-income groups such as head anchors and star anchors and tax them accordingly. The important orientation of classified management is the collection and management of high-income groups, such as head anchors and star anchors. The amount of income should be regarded as an important standard of classified management, and a standard of amount can be determined by month or year (for example, 100,000 yuan per month or 1.2 million yuan per year). For those above this amount, tax authorities and platforms advocate the establishment of individual industrial and commercial households, sole proprietorship enterprises and other organizations, and handle tax registration, standardize the establishment of accounts and tax accordingly. Of course, it is not mandatory to advocate the establishment of an organization, and taxpayers’ free choice should be respected.
Second, the taxation and scheme design of two types of network anchors
According to the above standards, we can roughly outline two tax forms of network anchors:
The first category is to advocate the establishment of individual industrial and commercial households, sole proprietorship enterprises and other organizations for network anchors above a certain standard amount and tax them accordingly;
The second category is network anchors that have not reached a certain standard amount, or have reached a certain standard amount but have not established individual industrial and commercial households or sole proprietorship enterprises.
The taxation of the first type of network anchor should be the key concern.
The first type of collection and management scheme is designed as follows:
(1) Main taxes and tax items: personal income tax is taxed according to "business income" and value-added tax according to "modern service industry" or "life service industry". As far as individual taxes are concerned, from the perspective of formal taxation, the establishment of individual industrial and commercial households and sole proprietorship enterprises should generally be taxed as "business income", and in special circumstances, it can be taxed as "labor remuneration" based on the principle of substantive taxation.
(2) Collection and management methods and invoice management: taxpayers declare by themselves, issue invoices by themselves or apply to the tax authorities to issue invoices on their behalf. Whether it is individual tax or value-added tax, for the establishment of an organization, taxpayers should declare themselves, issue their own invoices or apply to the tax authorities for invoicing.
(3) Tax determination method: mainly based on audit collection, supplemented by approved collection. According to State Taxation Administration of The People’s Republic of China’s "Strengthening the Tax Administration of Employees in the Entertainment Field", "individual studios and enterprises that are required to be established by celebrity artists and network anchors should be instructed to establish account systems according to laws and regulations, and tax returns should be made by means of audit collection." Therefore, for such anchors, tax registration should be handled, accounts should be strictly established, and accounts should be audited and collected; Considering the difficulty in establishing accounts and saving the cost of collection and management, we can also consider collecting some anchors by verification, but we should ensure the balance of tax burden between the collection by verification and the collection by audit, so as to avoid the alienation of verification into a tax preference tool. (4) Tax payment place and competent tax authorities: According to the relevant provisions of the tax law, "operating income" should be declared and paid in the tax authorities where the business management is located, and the competent authorities are the tax authorities where the business management is located. In terms of value-added tax, it should be declared and paid by the tax authorities in the place where the institution is located or where it lives, and the competent authority is the tax authorities in the place where the institution is located or where it lives.
The second type of collection and management scheme is designed as follows:
(1) Main taxes and tax items: personal income tax is taxed according to "labor remuneration" or "business income" and value-added tax according to "modern service industry" or "life service industry". If there is no organizational structure, the income obtained from the platform or brokerage company can be taxed as "labor remuneration" or "operating income". From the point of view of collection and management efficiency, we might as well simplify it: whether it is continuous and regular activities for business purposes, and the size of income quota, as the distinguishing standard. Those who do not reach a certain standard amount are generally taxed according to "labor remuneration" (which can be understood as non-sustainability, regularity and small income); For those who reach a certain standard amount, they can be taxed as "operating income" (which can be understood as continuous, regular and large in income).
(2) Collection and management methods and invoice management: if the tax is levied according to "labor remuneration", the payer (platform or brokerage company) will withhold and remit it when paying, and the anchor will make annual final settlement; The "operating income" shall be declared by the taxpayer. In invoice management, the former is opened by the anchor applying to the tax authorities, and it can also be considered to be opened by the platform or applied to the tax authorities; The latter is issued by the taxpayer himself or by the tax authorities.
(3) How to determine the tax: if the tax does not reach a certain standard amount, it will be taxed as "labor remuneration", and the withholding agent will withhold it and broadcast the personal annual settlement; For those who are taxed according to "operating income", because there is no organization, they will generally adopt the approved collection, but taxpayers can also audit the accounts if they establish accounts.
(4) Tax payment place and competent tax authorities: if tax is paid according to "labor remuneration", tax payment shall be declared at the tax authorities where the household registration is located, the habitual residence or the main source of income; If there is a withholding agent, the tax authorities where the withholding agent (such as the platform) is located shall withhold the declaration. Taxes levied on "business income" shall be declared and paid by the tax authorities in the place where the business management is located, and the competent authority shall be the tax authorities in the place where the business management is located. In terms of value-added tax, because there is no place where the organization is located, it should be declared and paid by the tax authorities at the place of residence or where the live broadcast activity takes place, and the competent authority is the place of residence or where the live broadcast activity takes place.
No matter which of the above types, the network platform undertakes certain duties and obligations to assist in tax collection.
First, the obligation to withhold and remit. For the individual tax levied according to "labor remuneration", the main obligation of the platform is the obligation of withholding and remitting.
The second is the determination and sharing of live broadcast turnover. Whether it is reward income or sales income, the platform can grasp it in time and provide it regularly according to the requirements of tax authorities.
Third, urge the anchor to handle tax registration, standardize the establishment of accounts, declare and pay taxes in time, and undertake certain inspection obligations and reporting obligations to the tax authorities.
Fourth, the feasibility of entrusting the collection. From a practical point of view, entrusting to collect taxes is not the mainstream choice of tax authorities, but there is room for entrusting the platform to collect taxes for network anchors, especially for anchors whose income is higher than a certain standard amount but without an organization. The competent tax authorities can sign an entrustment agreement with the platform to entrust them to collect taxes according to the Administrative Measures on Entrusted Collection.
In addition, the tax bureau should also strengthen the ability of data tax management, such as the construction of electronic tax bureau, electronic tax registration, electronic invoice and other related convenience systems, and at the same time strengthen the ability of data sharing with the platform.
Third, the policy declaration and legal expression of classified management
In recent years, the tax system has strengthened the tax collection and management of webcasting industry, which shows the spirit of the rule of law of statutory and strict tax collection and the times demand of common prosperity, but at the same time, it has also caused great uncertainty and even panic to the practitioners of webcasting industry and related industries: Is the tax rectification of network anchors a temporary "Great Leap Forward" or a continuous implementation of the rule of law? What is the policy orientation for tax consolidation, unified and integrated governance, or focusing on the big and letting the small and releasing water to raise fish?
In addition, the resonance between the complexity of tax law norms and the complexity of the design of network anchor trading model also increases the uncertainty of anchor paying taxes according to law and tax compliance, and the lack of clear policy list guidance also increases the illegal risk of tax law. On September 18th, 2021, State Taxation Administration of The People’s Republic of China issued "Strengthening the Tax Administration of Employees in Entertainment Field", but it did not make clear policies and specific rules.
In the face of the ongoing tax clearance of the live broadcast industry, tax authorities, network anchors, platforms and other parties should seek to build a basic consensus. The tax system can clearly declare its position on anchor tax collection and management through the rule of law, that is, taxation according to law and strict collection and management, as well as giving play to the social distribution and regulation function of taxation under common prosperity; In terms of policy, the tax authorities should establish the management thinking of classification and clarify the standards of classification and classification, that is, focus on the collection and management of high-income groups such as head anchors and star anchors, and at the same time follow the clear provisions of the tax law and stick to the bottom line of the rule of law that does not apply across the board.
On this basis, the tax authorities should construct typical types of network anchors and sort out the current tax rules, and stipulate the tax collection and management types, tax collection methods and invoice management, tax determination methods, tax payment locations, competent tax authorities and tax-related assistance obligations of platforms for different types of anchors, so as to provide clear guidance for network anchors and platforms. This should be an urgent task and a fundamental solution to the current legalization of taxation in the live broadcast industry.
(Author Wang Zongtao is an associate professor at Xiamen University Law School, doctor of law)