Chapter 48 Hong Kong Tax Season

Liu Hongmin wanted more money, but he had to write the script himself to earn royalties. Moreover, the royalties were not high, so Liu Hongmin might as well write the third part of Shao Bao if he had that much time!
He has now achieved financial freedom, and writing books has become a hobby. He writes when he wants to, and doesn’t write when he doesn’t want to.

If he wanted to make money, Liu Hongmin would just write books that would sell well abroad.

Since watching “Murder Case 405” with Cha Jianying, their relationship has gradually warmed up.

Liu Hongmin knew that Cha Jianying would go abroad in the future, but he still couldn’t control his emotions.

The same was true for Cha Jianying, so she had always hoped that Liu Hongmin could go abroad with her. But unfortunately, Liu Hongmin had no such idea at all.

Studying history abroad? Liu Hongmin thinks that is missing the point. Unless there are ancient books or cultural relics abroad, Liu Hongmin will not study history abroad.

The popularity of “The Inspector General of the Song Dynasty” has gradually decreased, but it has not ended.

Professor Yang Xiren of the Public Security University proudly said to the students: “You should have all watched “The Great Song Dynasty Judge”! Liu Hongmin originally asked me for advice on forensic medicine.”

“To be honest, when he first came to me with Xiyuanluji, I didn’t take it seriously. But after I learned about the contents of Xiyuanluji, I found that the forensic medicine in the Song Dynasty was not weak. Apart from the technical limitations of thousands of years, the knowledge recorded in Xiyuanluji is no different from what we use now.”

This made future forensic doctors very curious about “Xiyuanlu Ji” and they all looked for this book. However, it was not available on the market at all, so they had to find Jingda Publishing House and ask them to publish the book.

Jingda Publishing House saw that publishing ancient books was also a big project! And because the author had passed away for many years, they did not need to pay copyright fees, but only had to bear the printing costs.

Therefore, starting in June, Beijing University Press began to publish some professional ancient books. Professional ancient books such as “Xiyuanlu Ji”, “Tiangongkaiwu”, “Shuijingzhu” and so on gradually appeared on the market.

Although the purchase quantity is small, there is definitely profit, and it is a long-term business.

In early May, Luo Baoming, Huang Qiang and Yang Guiren came to Beijing together and discussed the copyright issue of the second part of Shao Bao with Liu Hongmin.

Like Shao Bao Part 1, Shao Bao Part 2 was first serialized in Ming Pao, then adapted into a TV series by RTV, and then published as a book by Sanlian Publishing House.

The three companies can cooperate with each other and completely replicate the success of the first part of Shao Bao.

Ming Pao still paid 1 yuan per thousand words, RTV’s adaptation fee increased to per unit, and Sanlian Publishing House’s royalties also increased by % at each stage.

The first volume of Shao Bao didn’t sell very well in South Korea, but it sold over 50,000 copies. However, the subsequent sales were not good, and Sanlian Publishing House paid Liu Hongmin royalties based on 70,000 copies, about 400,000 Hong Kong dollars for seven volumes.

On the other hand, the sales in Japan were quite good. The single volume had exceeded 130,000 copies, and the number was still increasing, heading towards 200,000 copies. Therefore, Sanlian Publishing House thought that it would pay the royalties after the number exceeded 200,000 copies.

RTV still hired Liu Hongmin as a consultant to help shoot the second part of Shao Bao, and this time the price was 20,000. Adding the 180,000 yuan for the adaptation fee, it was exactly 200,000.

Liu Hongmin was very happy to get 600,000 Hong Kong dollars at once. But before he could be happy for long, Huang Qiang told him that he needed to pay personal income tax in Hong Kong.

“I’m not from Hong Kong either.”

“If you are not from Hong Kong, you have to pay taxes if you make money in Hong Kong.”

“Then why didn’t I have to pay taxes last year?”

“The tax filing period in Hong Kong is from April 4 to June 1. The money you earned in the second half of last year should be reported together with the money you earned in the first half of this year.”

“Then how much do I have to pay?” Liu Hongmin asked with a painful look on his face.

Huang Qiang explained Hong Kong’s personal income tax collection standards, which are divided into four levels: 2%, 7%, 12% and 17%.

In the second half of last year and the first half of this year, Liu Hongmin earned a total of 83 Hong Kong dollars. After calculation, he needs to pay 11.1 Hong Kong dollars.

“So much?” Liu Hongmin said bitterly. It would be more than 80,000 yuan in RMB! Just gone like that?

Huang Qiang comforted him: “You should think positively. The reason you pay so much tax is because you earn a lot!”

Liu Hongmin relaxed and asked, “How do I pay the tax?”

Huang Qiang took out a license and said, “Sign it and I’ll have someone do it for you. The tax will be deducted from the adaptation fee.”

Liu Hongmin immediately signed the authorization letter and threw it to Huang Qiang.

“Take it away quickly, it’s too late and I’m afraid I’ll regret it!”

Huang Qiang put away the authorization letter and said, “The second part of Shao Bao will start shooting in August. You need to defend Xiangjiang before July 7th.”

Liu Hongmin calculated the time. The final exam will be in early July, and the renovation of the hospital will be completed in mid-July. After these two things are done, he can go to Hong Kong.

“no problem!”

Huang Qiang shook hands with Liu Hongmin and said goodbye, and hurried back to Hong Kong. If Xu Xiaoming was not filming another TV series, he would have wanted to shoot the second season of Shao Bao right now.

Ever since the first episode of Shao Bao surpassed TVB, TVB has been working hard. In the past few months, TVB has launched a large number of high-quality TV series, which has overwhelmed RTV.

Watching Huang Qiang leave, Liu Hongmin suddenly thought of a question.

If you pay taxes in Hong Kong, then you should also pay taxes in the country!
He has never paid taxes since he started earning royalties, and it has been three years now.

Shit! I’m not going to be the first celebrity to get into trouble with taxes, am I?
Liu Hongmin immediately found Zou Shifang and asked about personal income tax.

Zou Shifang was confused, “What kind of tax is this?”

“You don’t even know about personal income tax?”

Zou Shifang shook his head, “Never heard of it?”

“So don’t you have to pay taxes on your royalties?”

“No need!”

Liu Hongmin’s heart sank. Is the tax issue still a collective issue these days?

Paying taxes is a citizen’s duty! So many writers make a lot of money, but they don’t pay any taxes at all, how shameful!!!
Liu Hongmin rushed straight to the tax bureau and was almost kicked out.

It turns out that although the country has established taxes for 50 years, it has not yet been levied. It is said that the higher authorities are studying the collection method, but no meeting has been held to discuss it.

In other words, you don’t have to pay personal income tax these days.

Liu Hongmin almost laughed out loud, feeling like he had made a good deal.

After thinking about it, he went straight to the bank and exchanged the 100,000 Hong Kong dollars in his hand for 80,000 foreign exchange certificates. The country did not collect taxes, which was the country’s generosity. Liu Hongmin accepted it with peace of mind.

This 100,000 Hong Kong dollars is a small gift from Liu Hongmin to the country. After the other money arrives, Liu Hongmin will continue to exchange for foreign exchange certificates. Anyway, there is no use for him to keep so many Hong Kong dollars.

(End of this chapter)