Livestreamer Xu Jingwan (许静婉) hid income in private accounts and lost ¥6.3m to fines

Xu Jingwan, a livestream seller with more than six million followers, ran her business on the platforms between 2021 and 2023 while collecting part of her income through personal accounts. The Hangzhou Tax Service's third inspection bureau found she had underpaid ¥3.13 million of personal income tax and VAT by hiding revenue and converting its character.

On 10 July 2026 the State Administration of Taxation published her case as one of the day's batch of influencer tax investigations. Xu was ordered to repay the ¥3.13 million she owed plus fines of ¥6.32 million.

The case became a public lesson in how much of a livestreamer's income the tax office can see when platforms and account flows are traced — and how quickly a career built on public trust turns into a cautionary headline.

The tax authority traced her account flows, fined her ¥6.3m, and published her case as a national example, making the scandal outrun the money.

Collecting income through private accounts to keep it off the tax file is a structural choice that only works until the account flows are traced.

A six-million-follower seller is public property; the moment the tax authority named her, the scandal outran the money at issue.

Routing sales income away from the platform's visible records converted a routine tax question into a demonstration case for the whole industry.

For a public-figure seller, the tax bill is small next to the cost of being named. Hiding income in private accounts trades a modest liability for a demonstration case against the whole industry.

On 10 July 2026 the State Administration of Taxation published Xu Jingwan's case alongside other influencer tax investigations. She was ordered to repay the ¥3.13 million in underpaid tax plus ¥6.32 million in fines, and the case was widely covered as an example of the 2026 crackdown on livestream tax evasion.