- TikTok creators face losing their income as a potential US ban looms.
- In response, some TikTokers are vowing not to pay taxes on their earnings from the app.
- TikTok supports 224,000 US jobs and contributed $24.2 billion to GDP in 2023, according to one analysis.
As the deadline to decide TikTok’s fate nears, some creators are wondering what it means for their income.
Some say that if their social media business is suddenly yanked away, they won’t be filing their taxes — either out of spite of because they simply won’t have access to their earnings details anymore.
“If the government bans TikTok, I’m not gonna pay my taxes,” said one creator, Spencer Hudson, in a video. “I said it. TikTok is my job, alright. I get money from this.”
Hudson said he paid taxes on his TikTok income last year, but this year, he’s “not doing that.”
“You can’t take away my job and still demand taxes. That’s not how this works, alright?”
TikTok’s time could be running out. Unless the Supreme Court steps in or delays the divest-or-ban law, the platform will start to “go dark” for US-based users on January 19.
A ban could have a significant impact, with some small business owners warning that their livelihoods will be destroyed.
Some also say they’ll no longer be able to access their 1099 forms that are used to report income.
“My place of employment no longer exists,” said TikToker Patricia Walker. “What taxes? Uncle Sam, I’m sorry to tell you this, but what money?”
Walker also asked if she could “file for unemployment,” adding: “You took my job away.”
Sen. Ed Markey’s Extend the TikTok Deadline Act, which he proposed in a press release on Monday, aims to fight for the platform on this basis.
He said that TikTok had its problems, but that the “stakes are high” for millions of Americans.
“Like every social media platform, TikTok poses a serious risk to the privacy and mental health of our young people. I will continue to hold TikTok accountable for such behavior,” Markey said in a statement.
However, he said a ban “would impose serious consequences on millions of Americans who depend on the app for social connections and their economic livelihood. We cannot allow that to happen.”
An Oxford Economics report found TikTok is responsible for 224,000 jobs in the US. In 2023, it contributed $24.2 billion to GDP in 2023, and $5.3 billion in taxes paid.
TikTok Shop, for example, pulled in millions in sales a month on the platform last year, including $100 million on Black Friday alone.
As the potential ban inches closer, creators have been flocking to alternative apps, including Chinese-owned Lemon8 and RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshum.
