Hong Kong authorities have targeted independent news outlets and journalists with error-filled tax audits casting a shadow over press freedom in the city state, a journalists’ association said Wednesday.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association said that at least eight independent media outlets and about 20 journalists and their family members have been subjected to tax audits by the Inland Revenue Department for tax claims dating back seven years.
The association expressed concern that this could further reduce the operating space for small-scale and independent news outlets in a city once known for its freewheeling media. It called for the revenue department to stop audits without clear justification and to publicly explain the rationale for what it sees as a potentially coordinated crackdown on independent journalism.
“For small outlets like ours, this is a serious reputational attack. Being accused of tax evasion is defamation. The authorities’ frequent scrutiny of journalists and media organizations creates anxiety and casts a shadow over press freedom in Hong Kong,” Selina Cheng, the association’s chair, told a news conference.
The affected organizations include the association itself, Independent Media, The Witness, Hong Kong Free Press, DB Channel and ReNews. The targeted individuals are primarily current or former directors of news outlets, shareholders, journalists and their relatives.
Cheng said audits are riddled with errors and irregularities. Examples include demands to pay profit tax for years before a company was established; assigning business registration numbers to individuals without any registered business; and incorrectly treating all bank deposits as taxable income. In some cases, people were audited as spouses although they were not married at the time, or as dependents despite not claiming any allowances.
Cheng said the revenue department was imposing “preemptive penalties without due process.” She said many journalists have limited incomes and resources to defend themselves.
In response, the Inland Revenue Department told The Associated Press in an email that it has established procedures to review the information provided by taxpayers and that it will follow up on cases in which information shows a possible breach of rules.
“The industry or background of a taxpayer has no bearing on such reviews,” it said, declining to comment on any particular case.
Hong Kong has seen a shrinking in the space for independent media, particularly in the wake of mass protests for democratic freedoms in 2019 as Beijing tightened its grip on the territory. Hong Kong had been permitted more liberties than mainland China, including media freedoms, after the U.K. ceded control of the city in 1997.
Several major independent outlets in Hong Kong have been shuttered and had staff arrested since Beijing-backed security legislation was passed in 2020 and then beefed up in 2024. Radio Free Asia closed its bureau in Hong Kong in March 2024.
In the global press freedom ranking issued annually by Reporters Without Borders, Hong Kong stood at 18th out of 180 countries and territories in 2002, but fell to 148th in 2022. The city’s ranking now stands at 140, between Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan.
Edited by Mat Pennington.
