MOVIES - Dec. 21, 1987

Death remains a certainty, but taxes have become another matter for Chinese entertainers, according to official reports published Saturday. The reports, printed in the China Daily newspaper, said several Chinese actors and singers fail to pay taxes on their substantial supplemental incomes, and one movie actress, Hong Xuemin, declared she earned more than $3,600 in extra pay--a lot of money in a country where the average worker earns about $270 a year. Chinese performers earn regular monthly salaries as employees of film studios or entertainment troupes. The salaries may be two or three times what a factory worker earns, but the performers make their biggest money on special tours of the country, which are regarded as supplements to their income.