In recent years, the platform economy has rapidly emerged as an important force in driving employment, stimulating consumption, and promoting innovation. However, while flourishing and developing, many platform enterprises, platform operators, and practitioners still have a vague understanding of the division of tax obligations: the platform agreement states that "taxes and fees shall be borne by oneself", does it mean that the platform will no longer bear tax obligations? Some platforms also make provisions in contract agreements and entry terms, attempting to avoid obligations such as information submission and withholding, and pushing tax related obligations onto merchants and practitioners within the platform.

For example, in November 2025, the tax department exposed the tax evasion case of online anchor Guo Xinxin. In this case, Guo Xinxin attempted to evade tax obligations by claiming that the platform had already withheld and paid taxes on his behalf. However, after verification by the tax authorities, the platform only fulfilled its withholding obligation for his labor remuneration income of 760000 yuan, and the vast majority of sales revenue and commissions were not withheld and paid taxes. In the end, the tax authorities made a decision to recover taxes, impose late fees, and impose fines on Guo Xinxin for his illegal behavior.

Duan Pingfang, the head of the Department of International Economics and Trade at Zhengzhou University Business School, stated that these perceptions and practices not only affect national tax security, but also pose compliance risks. There is a bottom line to clarify the tax obligations of various entities in the platform economy: statutory tax obligations cannot be arbitrarily transferred or shifted through agreements.

In 2025, the Regulations on the Submission of Tax related Information by Internet Platform Enterprises, the Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Matters Related to the Submission of Tax related Information by Internet Platform Enterprises, and the Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Matters Related to the Withholding Declaration and Agency Declaration by Internet Platform Enterprises for Employees in the Platform were successively released, which defined the information submission and withholding obligations of platform enterprises and stipulated that agency declaration can be handled.

Duan Fangfang believes that the core logic of this series of regulations is to enable platforms that have access to transaction data to assume tax assistance responsibilities that match their information advantages, and to solve the problem of "data on the platform, tax sources on the platform, and responsibilities being unfulfilled" in the platform economy from the source.

According to the relevant regulations mentioned above, platform enterprises are required to submit the identity information and income information of operators and employees within the platform in accordance with regulations; Employees engaged in convenient labor activities such as delivery, transportation, and housekeeping on the platform who enjoy tax benefits or do not need to pay taxes in accordance with the law may be exempt from submitting their income information. The platform enterprise shall calculate and prepay the tax on the labor remuneration income obtained by the platform employees from the platform enterprise using the cumulative withholding method; If employees obtain service income from platform enterprises, the platform enterprises may handle value-added tax and additional tax declaration on behalf of employees after obtaining their written consent and keeping it for future reference.

The fulfillment of information submission, withholding obligations, and agency declaration services by platform enterprises does not mean that they assume all the tax obligations of operators and employees within the platform. "Duan Fang emphasized that the platform's obligation to assist in tax collection and management cannot replace the tax obligations of other entities, and the two cannot be confused. As an independent operating entity, platform operators should register as operating entities, confirm tax information in accordance with the law, truthfully declare sales revenue obtained through the platform, pay relevant taxes and fees in accordance with the law, and issue, obtain, and keep invoices in accordance with regulations. Employees on the platform should truthfully provide their personal identity and income information, and declare and pay taxes according to the nature of their income in accordance with the law. The income obtained by employees through for-profit services such as live streaming, education, consulting, and design provided by the platform belongs to labor remuneration income. After the platform withholds and prepays, if employees need to make up or refund their annual income, they still need to handle comprehensive income settlement and payment at the end of the year; The income obtained by employees through the sale of goods and provision of transportation services on the platform belongs to operating income and should be declared and paid relevant taxes and fees on their own.

In practice, some platform enterprises and platform operators and practitioners mainly have the following misconceptions:

One is to attempt to exempt platform enterprises from their own withholding obligations by using the "self payment of taxes and fees" clause. Some platform companies have agreed in their entry agreements that 'all taxes and fees shall be borne by the practitioners themselves', and therefore do not fulfill their obligation to withhold and pay on behalf of others.

In this regard, Duan Fangfang believes that although the laws and regulations on tax management do not prohibit the parties from making agreements on the economic burden of tax, that is, the agreement on who actually pays the tax, the withholding obligation is a legal obligation directly stipulated by tax law and is not determined by the will of the contracting parties. If the platform enterprise fails to fulfill its withholding and payment obligations, and the operator or employee who signed the settlement agreement also fails to declare and pay taxes, the tax authorities will not only hold the taxpayer responsible according to law, but also hold the platform responsible for failing to fulfill its withholding obligations according to law.

The second is to package the substantive labor relationship in the form of "individual business registration". Some platform companies attempt to register individual industrial and commercial households for practitioners within the platform. Through this method, the labor remuneration income that was originally subject to a progressive tax rate of 3% to 45% is converted into "operating income" that is subject to a tax rate of 5% to 35%. The approved collection policy is applied to reduce tax payments and avoid withholding and payment obligations.

According to Duan Fangfang's analysis, the determination of labor relations is based on "actual employment management" rather than the paper form of "individual industrial and commercial households". If the bulk registration of individual industrial and commercial households is only for the purpose of paying less taxes or avoiding platform withholding obligations without actual business premises and substance, and the forced conversion of labor remuneration into operating income declaration is a mismatch of income nature, both platform enterprises and practitioners will face tax risks.

The third is to ignore the taxpayer's own tax obligations under the pretext that the platform has a withholding obligation. Some practitioners misunderstand the platform's withholding obligation as a "shield" for their own tax obligations.

This viewpoint is incorrect, "explained Duan Fangfang." Platform enterprises' withholding and payment only apply to specific income and specific links, and do not cover the entire income of practitioners, nor do they cover all tax categories and all tax payment links, nor can they change the legal status of practitioners as taxpayers. Practitioners should still declare and pay in full according to law for income that has not been deducted, underpaid, incorrectly deducted, or does not fall within the scope of platform withholding.

According to regulations, if platform enterprises fail to submit tax related information as required, the tax authorities shall order them to make corrections within a specified period of time; Those who fail to make corrections within the prescribed time limit shall be fined not less than 20000 yuan but not more than 100000 yuan; Those with serious circumstances shall be ordered to suspend business for rectification and fined not less than 100000 yuan but not more than 500000 yuan. If platform enterprises falsely handle withholding declaration and agency declaration, the tax authorities shall investigate their responsibilities in accordance with the law and include the relevant circumstances in the management of tax payment credit evaluation.

(Author Du Tao)