Hong Kong’s Beleaguered Journalists Say Their Taxes Are Now Under Scrutiny

Journalists in Hong Kong have increasingly complained about having to self-censor and the fear of arrest since a national security crackdown began five years ago.

Now, they say, they have another worry to add to the list: tax inspections.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association said on Wednesday that the union itself and six independent news outlets — as well as their founders — are among those who have been subject to tax investigations, saying it added to the pressures being placed on journalists as press freedom dwindles in the Chinese territory.

The investigations also extended to the personal taxes of the spouses or parents of some the journalists who are being investigated, the group said. Most of those being investigated by the department have been issued additional tax demands, and a few said they were asked to provide up to seven years of financial information.

Selina Cheng, the chair of the association, said that there was not sufficient evidence to prompt most of the tax investigations, and that, in some cases, the authorities had overestimated income without taking into account business expenses.

“Journalists in Hong Kong do not have a very high income. Other than having to hisse these claims of taxes, they also need to spend money, time and energy to prove in reverse that they were innocent,” Ms. Cheng said.

The number of tax investigations in Hong Kong is relatively low: the Inland Revenue Department said it completed about 1,800 field audit and investigations between 2023 and 2024. The department said in a statement that the investigations followed standard procedures. “The industry or background of a taxpayer has no bearing on such reviews,” it said.