Sichuan launches the 35th National Taxation Publicity Month, and these six positive online figures have gained a "new identity"

Reporter of 每经｜Zhang Yi    Editor of 每经｜Liao Dan

On April 1, the 35th National Tax Publicity Month launch event in Sichuan Province was held in Chengdu. The event, themed “Taxation · Rule of Law · Fairness,” invited representatives from 10 MCN institutions in the province (i.e., online performance brokerage agencies) and 6 representatives of people with positive energy from the online community to attend, and engaged in in-depth exchanges around tax-related policies, compliant operations, and online legal education.

At the event site, tax officials delivered a special briefing on tax-related policies concerning internet platform enterprises and online hosts. Frontline practitioners shared vivid case studies, and the participating people with positive energy were聘 to serve as “Sichuan Province Taxation Network Legal Education Volunteers.” The opening of the Tax Publicity Month thus got underway.

“Rule of law is the best business environment, and fairness is the foundation for healthy industry growth.” A relevant official with Sichuan Provincial Taxation Bureau introduced that during the Tax Publicity Month, Sichuan tax departments will plan and carry out a series of themed activities in a way suited to local conditions, turning the internet’s massive traffic into positive energy for tax legal education, and working hard to create a tax ecosystem characterized by rule of law and fairness.

At the event site, photo provided by Sichuan Provincial Taxation Bureau

On-site: Practitioners of new business formats discuss the “steadiest traffic”

With the rapid development of new business formats such as the platform economy and live-stream e-commerce, tax compliance has become an important issue for the healthy development of the industry. At this Tax Publicity Month launch event, multiple MCN representatives and frontline practitioners shared their respective compliance practices.

A representative of Chengdu Yinshi Culture Media Co., Ltd. said that the company has specifically established a Finance BP (business partner) role, so that finance and tax personnel participate throughout the entire process—from product selection meetings and content planning to influencer contract signing—by embedding tax and finance rules in advance. “We have always believed that operating in accordance with the law and paying taxes in good faith are not slogans on the wall, but real competitiveness. The more solid the compliance work is, the steadier the business will run.”

A representative of Chengdu Huaxing Brilliant Entertainment Co., Ltd. stated that AI (artificial intelligence) technology not only improves operational efficiency, but also provides new ideas for tax legal education. He suggested creating AI virtual hosts to do short-video legal education on taxes, customizing content for different groups, and building interactive legal-education tools, so that knowledge of tax law is easier for young people to accept.

“Sichuan Uncle Xie Shu” Xie Aijun from Cangxi County, Xinghua Village, shared stories about starting a business back home and using e-commerce to help farmers. After giving up a high-paying job in Hangzhou and returning home, he led fellow villagers to sell products through livestreaming. Over the past two years, they have accumulated sales of agricultural products totaling several tens of millions of yuan, helping hundreds of households increase their income. For every transaction, invoices are issued in accordance with the law and declarations are made truthfully.

“E-commerce helping farmers may look like a business of traffic, but in truth it is an accumulation of trust—and also a support for the rule of law.” Xie Aijun particularly mentioned that local tax authorities took the initiative to come to them to provide guidance on preferential tax policies for farmers who produce and sell their own agricultural products, teaching them step by step how to issue electronic invoices. “Taxation is not cold written provisions; it is support with warmth. Only by paying taxes according to the law and operating in compliance can small businesses participate fairly in the market, and rural industries be able to move steadily and go far.”

“Sichuan Uncle Xie Shu” Xie Aijun shares stories about e-commerce helping farmers and paying taxes in accordance with the law; photo by reporter Zhang Yi

Tanquan Qiao, a media personality who is widely loved for the TV program “Tanquan Transportation,” and vice chairman of the Online Union of the Sichuan Provincial United Front Work Department, compared his experience in transportation legal education with publicity for tax policies. He proposed, “Compliance is the best form of doing business, and good faith is the steadiest kind of traffic.”

“Don’t run red lights when driving, and don’t look for loopholes when doing livestreams. Tax law is like traffic law—it’s all a red line in law.” Tan Qiao encouraged online practitioners with three shared takeaways: first, follow the rules and don’t cross the line—do things in an open and upright manner; second, know the bottom line and don’t hide anything—operate properly and in an orderly way; third, choose the right path and don’t trust shortcuts—make money steadily and live honestly and clearly.

A relevant official with Sichuan Provincial Taxation Bureau introduced that during the Tax Publicity Month, Sichuan tax authorities will plan and carry out a series of themed activities tailored to local conditions. These include coordinating with the cybersecurity and informatization authorities and judicial departments to further deepen the online legal education brand “E-law Travels Along · Clear and Orderly Sichuan Prefecture,” carrying out an online commentary activity titled “Visit First-Line Enterprises and See Tax Compliance,” jointly launching the “Compliance Leads the Way · Empower Sichuan Businesses” initiative with the Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce, advancing the implementation of the project “A Thousand and One Scenes in Invoices,” rolling out a special tutoring session titled “A Lesson on Tax Compliance for Online Hosts,” and regularly exposing cases of tax-related illegal conduct, among others—working hard to create a tax ecosystem characterized by rule of law and fairness.

Perspective: Sichuan’s tax legal education is moving toward diversity

At this launch event, Sichuan Provincial Taxation Bureau also awarded certificates as Sichuan Province Taxation Network Legal Education Volunteers to six people with positive energy online, including Tan Qiao, “Sichuan Uncle Xie Shu” Xie Aijun, “Brother Bazhen” Du Yunting, “Second Brother Tax Tax Thoughts,” “Those Things About Technology,” and “Dreams in Tax Long.”

Online people from different fields joining the legal education team means that tax legal education is gradually moving toward diversity.

“Brother Bazhen” Du Yunting from the Great Baxi Mountains tells the “crossing into wider audiences” path of tax legal education through the process of making three hit short videos. From warm stories about paying rural medical insurance contributions, to humorous warnings against being scammed over individual income tax, and then to realistic scenes of a restaurant refusing to issue invoices—his team uses dialect comedy to make tax policies feel tangible, understandable, and approachable. Among them, the story about paying medical insurance contributions has been played across the whole platform with millions of views, and comments in the comment section have moved people as well. “A good legal-education story can awaken resonance and deliver warmth,” Du Yunting said. “Even content that is serious in tone can be carried in a light and interesting way.”

The main official of Sichuan Provincial Taxation Bureau stated that tax authorities will focus on the theme “Taxation · Rule of Law · Fairness,” and earnestly carry out tax legal education and publicity activities. They will safeguard the high-quality development of the tax cause with rule of law, protect the overall picture of economic and social development with fairness, continuously enhance taxpayer compliance with tax laws and improve social satisfaction, and contribute greater tax-related strength to firmly writing a new chapter of Sichuan’s modernization-style construction with Chinese characteristics.