Tax authorities in southern Guangdong province have slapped live-streaming star Ping Rong with a 62 million yuan (US$10 million) fine for tax evasion, making her the latest Chinese online influencer to be charged with the offence over the past several months. A popular live-streamer on Kuaishou Technology ’s short video-sharing platform, Ping was held liable for tax irregularities in 2019 and 2020, according to a statement on Tuesday by the Guangdong Provincial Tax Service, which is under the State Taxation Administration (STA). The Guangdong tax service said the irregularities were discovered through big data analysis after Ping did not complete the “self-rectification” suggested by authorities. Ping’s live-streaming e-commerce account on Kuaishou became unsearchable soon after news of her fine was announced. The provincial tax service said it “will continue to strengthen the analysis and application of big data” to help improve measures to supervise the live-streaming industry and crack down on illegal practices. Ping was in the spotlight last year for selling problem-plagued smartphones from Chinese brand Doov. Kuaishou later took down all the Doov handsets on its platform and promised compensation for consumers who bought these products. Payment of the compensation was split three ways between Kuaishou, Doov and the live-streamer. The latest action by the Guangdong tax service shows that the campaign started by the STA last September continues to be vigorously pursued by authorities nationwide. The STA vowed to conduct regular tax investigations into top entertainers, including online influencers. It said high-income celebrities who self-report offences may receive reduced penalties or exemptions. In December, the tax bureau of Hangzhou, China’s e-commerce hub and capital of eastern Zhejiang province, imposed a record 1.34 billion yuan (US$211.8 million) fine on leading online influencer Viya for tax evasion, a move that sent shock waves across the country’s live-streaming industry. Inside the wealth and power of China’s e-commerce influencers One of China’s rare one-name celebrities, Viya – whose real name is Huang Wei – saw her widely followed social media account on microblogging platform Weibo and her online presence on Taobao Marketplace , the social commerce operation of Alibaba Group Holding , become immediately inaccessible just hours after her steep penalty was announced. Alibaba is the parent of the South China Morning Post . Earlier in November, Hangzhou tax authorities named and shamed Zhu Chenhui , known online as Xueli Cherie, and Lin Shanshan who were fined 65.5 million yuan and 27.7 million yuan, respectively, for tax evasion. The implications of the Chinese government’s tax-focused crackdown are expected to be huge. Live streaming is already the best-paying job for fresh Chinese graduates , according to online classifieds platform 58.com , and a vital marketing channel for many foreign and domestic brands in the world’s biggest e-commerce market . China’s live-streaming e-commerce market was worth more than 1.2 trillion yuan in 2020, according to a report released by iResearch last September. There were at least 1.23 million “professional” live-streaming hosts and aides working in the industry in 2020, compared with fewer than a quarter of a million the year before.