Chinese stars brought down to earth

Chinese tax authorities have a new favourite nursery jingle: “Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are… worth.” Or at least that seems to be the refrain given that China has begun to take a closer look at the payments made to the top stars of its booming $8.6-billion film industry, on suspicion that they may be signing multiple “yin-yang” contracts and only showing the lowest ones to the income tax department. So, China has now decreed that payments to film and TV actors will be capped at 40% of total production costs, with top stars not being allowed to hog more than 70% of total wage costs. Film industries around the world will certainly not be enthused by this taxman’s way of combating pay disparity, particularly since this sector is generally free from official diktats.

India’s film industry, at $2 billion, is worth far less than China’s but enjoys a comparable status among moviegoers. While India may want to emulate many things about China, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and other bustling film hubs must hope that the finance ministry will not get ideas from Beijing on this matter. More so because Indians do not appear to begrudge the huge sums their favourite actors make, unlike in China where the skyrocketing earnings of its top stars have become the subject of heated public debate of late.