Tax Regulations On Income From Online Live Broadcast Reward

With the rapid development of Internet economy and the popularity of smart phones,the new business model of webcast reward came into being and expanded continuously.Webcast reward refers to the behavior that the anchor provides live broadcasting services through the live broadcasting platform,and users reward the anchor with virtual gifts by purchasing virtual currency,so as to obtain the anchor’s attention and get spiritual satisfaction.The legal relationship among users,anchors and live broadcast platforms has become blurred due to the intervention of the platform,,which makes the nature of live broadcast reward income difficult to identify,and increases the difficulty of levying personal income tax on live broadcast reward income.However,the webcast industry is developing rapidly,and the live broadcast reward has become an important source of income for the entertainment live broadcast industry.Various statistical data show that the income from live broadcast rewards is considerable.In 2020,the reward amount of paid users of the top six live broadcast platforms reached 23.757 billion yuan,and there are not a few anchors with an annual income of more than one million.If the live broadcast reward income is exempt from tax,it deviates from the principle of tax fairness The tax law principles such as the principle of affordability have caused a large loss of fiscal revenue in China.The research on the regulation of tax law has important practical significance.The core issue discussed in this paper is whether the income from live broadcast reward should be taxed,that is,whether the income from live broadcast reward belongs to taxable income and how to tax it.The premise of clarifying the nature of the reward from live broadcasting is to clarify the legal relationship among the tripartite economic subjects.The legal relationship between users and the live broadcasting platform is the key factor to judge whether the reward from live broadcasting is commercial.The legal relationship between the anchor and the live broadcasting platform determines the object ownership of the reward,The legal relationship between the reward user and the anchor determines the nature of the reward income of live broadcast.This paper discusses the legal relationship between the user and the live broadcast platform,the anchor and the live broadcast platform,the reward user and the anchor,and comes to the conclusion that the reward of the user to the anchor belongs to the gift.Further analyze the tax basis of the reward income of the live broadcast,and judge whether the gift belongs to the taxable income.By analyzing the taxability of the income from live webcasting,we can find that the income from live broadcast reward is both economically taxable and legally taxable,which has a theoretical basis for this income tax.Taxable income theory mainly includes source theory,net assets increase theory and market transaction theory.China’s individual income tax law adopts the theory of increase in net assets.The result of live broadcast reward behavior is the increase of anchor’s wealth and tax affordability.The income of live broadcast reward belongs to the scope of taxable income.Through the complex business model,the reward for live broadcasting has a commercial nature.The purpose of the anchor providing live broadcasting services is to obtain remuneration.The reward obtained by the anchor actually has the nature of labor income.This paper introduces the Duberstein case and the Stanton case in order to learn from the standard of defining tax-free gifts and taxable income by the U.S.Supreme Court,and apply this test standard to the income from live broadcasting reward.The income from live broadcasting reward does not belong to the detached and selfless generosity of the donor,and further clarify that the income from live broadcasting reward does not belong to tax-free gifts but taxable income,Individual income tax shall be levied on them.A comprehensive and complete view of the live reward behavior,the establishment of a gift legal relationship between the reward user and the anchor is not contradictory to the taxation of reward income.Because according to the flow path of funds,the income of the anchor is generated between the anchor and the live broadcast platform.It is necessary to define the attribute of the reward income of the live broadcast according to the legal relationship between anchors and platforms.It is unreasonable to divide the reward income of the live broadcast into accidental income,which should be recognized as salary income or labor remuneration income according to different legal relationships.For the identification of tax declaration responsibility,the live broadcasting platform and brokerage company are mainly used as withholding agents to perform the withholding obligations.If there is no withholding agent,the anchor will declare and pay taxes by himself.The research on the most basic tax legal issues will help to clarify the tax elements of live broadcast reward income and provide guidance for the research and analysis of its collection and management.Under the background of the Internet,the income tax collection and management of emerging economic business forms is a difficult problem that needs to be solved jointly by theoretical and practical circles.It needs to be continuously improved and improved in tax laws and regulations.The tax collection and management of live reward income also needs to be continuously optimized and finally systematized.