Yang Mi, Hawick Lau Divorced Early Due to Tax Investigation?

After five years of marriage, the news of 32-year-old Yang Mi (杨幂) and 44-year-old Hawick Lau‘s (刘恺威) divorce still shocked many fans. According to reports, the estranged couple originally wanted to get divorced two years later when their four-year-old daughter is older. What accelerated Yang Mi and Hawick’s divorce decision may be related to the Chinese authorities’ crackdown on celebrities’ tax evasion tactics in recent months.

Divorce Announcement Timed to Protect Daughter

The couple allegedly chose to announce their divorce over the Christmas holiday to protect their daughter, “Little Sticky Rice.” While the school is closed for holidays, this helps minimize Little Sticky Rice’s need to face countless questions at school over her parents’ separation. While the couple mutually agreed to divorce, they agreed to jointly raise their daughter and pleaded with the media to give the family privacy.

Prime Target for Tax Evasion Investigation

Due to their busy careers, Yang Mi and Hawick were often separated long distance in the marriage. Unable to make their marriage work, the couple originally agreed to get divorced two to three years later when Little Sticky Rice is at least in primary school.

However, after Fang Bingbing (范冰冰) was fined millions for tax-evasion, China’s scrutiny on celebrities intensified. Chinese authorities are investigating more artistes for possible tax evasion, and Yang Mi and Hawick are prime targets due to their high income. The couple allegedly wanted to clearly separate their finances through divorce to avoid entanglements during tax investigations.

Yang Mi had always been very career-oriented and is said to have more earning power than Fan Bingbing. Yang Mi created her studio, Jay Walk Studio, and had seen the company’s value increase from 250 million yuan to 5 billion yuan in just two years. As a popular entertainer, the pay rate for Yang Mi for starring in a drama is as high as 80 million yuan. Ranked as the top artiste with the most commercial value, it is also estimated that Yang Mi’s net worth is more than 3 billion yuan.

On the other hand, Hawick picked up fewer dramas in recent years and only starred in Full Love <周末父母>, Heirs <繼承人>,  The Legend of Jade Sword <莽荒紀>and among other variety shows. In 2017, Forbes China estimated that Hawick had an annual income of 75 million yuan and a net worth of 500 million yuan. Although Hawick and Yang Mi still belong to the same company, Hawick has set up his own studio. As his divorce is finalized, their finances are kept separate and will not impact each other.

Source: Sing Tao

This article is written by Sammi for JayneStars.com.