Hong Kong, Independent Media Targeted by Abusive Tax Audits

Repression through taxes is a time-honored strategy of totalitarian regimes. The Hong Kong Journalists Association protests.

By Gladys Kwok

May 27, 2025

Selina Cheng, head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association. From X.

The independent news industry in Hong Kong is facing significant challenges as organizations, employees, and their families undergo simultaneous tax audits and retroactive demands. This issue has been highlighted by the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), which at a press conference last week expressed concern over the deteriorating state of press freedom in the region.

Selina Cheng, the head of the HKJA, stated that at least six news outlets have been facing government tax demands since November 2023. These outlets include “InMedia,” “The Witness,” “ReNews,” “Boomhead,” “Hong Kong Free Press,” and one other outlet that chose to remain anonymous. The tax demands are part of inspections by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). The HKJA emphasized that these audits affect not only news companies but also individuals associated with the independent media sector.

Twenty people associated with the independent media sector are under similar investigations and tax demands. These probes have also reached the personal taxes of some journalists’ spouses or parents, increasing pressure on those affected. They must now supply detailed financial information covering as much as seven years. The HKJA has highlighted that many of those investigated have received further tax demands, complicating their financial circumstances even more.

Hong Kong’s Inland Revenue Service. Source: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Selina Cheng emphasized the financial pressure that tax audits create for journalists in Hong Kong. She pointed out that journalists in this area usually do not have high salaries, which makes the extra tax demands particularly burdensome. In addition to the financial implications, these journalists must commit substantial time, money, and effort to demonstrate their innocence. This entails collecting and presenting evidence to refute the allegations made by tax authorities.

The HKJA has voiced serious worries about how these tax audits affect press freedom in Hong Kong. They contend that these audits’ widespread and coordinated approach signifies a larger attempt to weaken independent journalism in the area. The association has urged increased transparency and fairness in the tax audit procedures to prevent their use to target and intimidate independent media organizations and their personnel.

The persistent tax audits and retroactive demands facing Hong Kong’s independent news sector pose a significant threat to press freedom. Using taxes to harass dissidents is an old strategy of totalitarian regimes.

Source: bitterwinter.org