Chapter 140: That’s Perfectly Normal

Han Jiangxue’s words gave Su Chen a genuine feeling of being kept.

As a self-reliant and independent young man of the twenty-second century, Su Chen instinctively wanted to refuse.

But Han Jiangxue didn’t wait for him to speak; she immediately sealed off all his escape routes.

“With your current popularity, the money you make is no longer just a few thousand yuan as before. Now, any amount you earn casually is tens or even hundreds of thousands,” she said.

“Any income requires paying taxes, and personal taxes are completely different from corporate taxes. If you set up a studio, you can legally avoid a lot of tax,” Han Jiangxue explained.

Although she hadn’t elaborated, Su Chen understood what she meant.

He had encountered this situation before in his past life, and many celebrities had fallen from grace due to tax issues.

Among them were even some top-tier stars!

After all, once personal income reaches a certain threshold, the taxes owed can be staggering, while corporate taxes are much lower.

The main differences between personal and corporate taxes lie in the taxpayers, the methods of payment, and the scope.

Personal tax refers to an individual paying taxes to the state based on national tax laws, according to their income and assets.

The most common personal tax is income tax, with rates calculated based on annual total income and various deductions, also considering pre-tax deductions and exemptions.

Corporate tax means a company pays taxes to the state based on its income, turnover, sales, and so forth, according to the tax laws.

Common corporate taxes include value-added tax, corporate income tax, and stamp duty.

The corporate income tax rate is generally 25%, but some small and micro enterprises may enjoy lower rates, calculated based on revenue and expenses.

Thus, most artists establish their own companies, channeling their income through corporate accounts to minimize losses.

Of course, this is a legitimate and reasonable tax avoidance method, unlike tax evasion, which often involves tampering with contracts.

For example, the so-called “yin-yang contracts.”

A yin-yang contract is a fake contract that either lacks genuine transaction content or fabricates it, created solely to evade taxes or gain illicit benefits.

This practice often involves falsifying or concealing income, inflating or fabricating expenses, or using fake invoices to evade taxes.

For instance, a company wanting to dodge corporate income tax might enter into a yin-yang contract with another company, inventing non-existent transaction items or artificially inflating transaction amounts to reduce taxable income.

The other company then submits fabricated income and expenses to tax authorities to claim unwarranted VAT refunds and other benefits.

Yin-yang contracts are serious illegal acts, involving not only tax violations but potentially economic crimes.

If discovered, responsible parties face legal consequences and must repay evaded taxes plus fines.

Yet, projects that generate earnings are often written in criminal law; whenever the stakes are high enough, some will risk it all.

Like Fan Liangliang in his previous life... Su Chen thought, feeling somewhat melancholic.

In such a short time, Han Jiangxue probably never imagined Su Chen would have so many thoughts.

She continued, “So, setting up your own studio is urgent.”

“This matter is pressing for you and for me as well.”

Su Chen was slightly taken aback and asked curiously, “...Why are you in such a hurry?”

Han Jiangxue said, “Because my mom is eager for me to take over her company. She wants to retire and travel around the world with her girlfriends.”

“But I haven’t even run a small workshop before, let alone manage a company.”

“Now that you’re opening a studio, I can come train at your place, act as your manager, get familiar with these things, so I won’t be caught off guard when the time comes.”

Su Chen was surprised and said, “...You want to be my manager?”

Han Jiangxue raised an eyebrow and glanced sideways at him. “What, you don’t want me to?”

“Let me tell you, the queue of stars wanting me as their manager stretches all the way from here to Paris. Don’t think you can get a bargain and then act coy!”

She snorted.

Actually, what Han Jiangxue said was no lie. As a major shareholder of Fashion Media, with her around, the resources of Xiang Province TV station were at her disposal, which was a huge temptation for any artist.

Not to mention, her mother managed numerous companies, including Fashion Media itself!

And with her father’s status... well...

Han Jiangxue thought suddenly, Paris seemed a little close.

It should have been at least two and a half times around the equator, with them trailing behind in Paris!

“...So, this is a win-win situation. Why wouldn’t we want that?” Han Jiangxue said happily.

Su Chen found no reason to argue and could only nod helplessly.

For him, it didn’t matter who managed him. Given his solid foundation of Chinese traditional repertoire, his manager only needed to answer calls.

But Han Jiangxue had more to say. She also needed to borrow a legal team.

Su Chen hadn’t even confessed yet, and she was already talking about borrowing things from his future mother-in-law. How could he still hold his head high at the Han family’s?

Before he could speak, Han Jiangxue anticipated his thoughts and said immediately, “So after we establish the studio, I’ll definitely have shares. This company will be ours, so I won’t treat it carelessly.”

“The first thing after setting up the company will be to protect the only artist under my studio—that’s you!”

“To make sure my artist doesn’t get hurt, it’s only natural for me to borrow a legal team from my mom!”

Though Han Jiangxue’s reasoning was convoluted, Su Chen had no grounds to refuse.

In the end, he had no choice but to go along with her.

As long as she was happy.

Han Jiangxue smiled slyly, patted her chest confidently, and promised, “Don’t worry, with me here, our studio will achieve results within three days!”

“In three days, I’ll lead you in sounding the horn of counterattack. The mere Starry Entertainment is definitely no match for our studio!”

“We won’t just make a ripple—we’ll make a thunderous splash!”