The Hong Kong authorities have targeted independent media and journalists with tax audits filled with errors that launched a shadow on press freedom in the city state, an association of journalists announced on Wednesday.
Hong Kong Journalists Association said that at least eight independent media and around twenty journalists and family members were submitted to tax audits by the domestic revenue department for tax complaints dating from seven years.
The association expressed its concern that this could further reduce the operating space for small -scale and independent media in a city formerly known for its freewheeling media. He called on the income service to stop audits without clear justification and to publicly explain the justification of what it considers as a potentially coordinated repression against independent journalism.
“For small points of sale like ours, this is a serious reputation attack. Being accused of tax evasion is defamation. The frequent intervention of the authorities towards journalists and media organizations creates anxiety and throws a shadow on press freedom in Hong Kong,” said Selina Cheng, the president of the association, to a conference on the news.
The organizations concerned include the association itself, the independent media, the witness, the free press of Hong Kong, the DB chain and the renewals. Targeted individuals are mainly current or former media directors, shareholders, journalists and their loved ones.
Cheng said the audits are riddled with errors and irregularities. The examples include requests for paying the profits for years before the creation of a company; assign companies registration numbers to individuals without any registered business; And wrongly treat all bank deposits as a taxable income. In some cases, people were audited as spouses although they were not married at the time, or as a dependent persons despite not claiming quotas.
Cheng said the income department required “pre -empty sanctions without regular procedure”. She said that many journalists have limited income and resources to defend herself.
In response, the Department of Internal Revenues told the Associated Press in an email that it had established procedures to examine the information provided by taxpayers and that it would follow the cases in which the information shows a possible violation of the rules.
“The industry or the history of a taxpayer has no impact on such opinions,” he said, refusing to comment on a special case.
Hong Kong saw a narrowing in space for independent media, in particular following mass demonstrations for democratic freedoms in 2019 while Beijing has tightened its grip on the territory. Hong Kong had been authorized for more freedoms than continental China, including media freedoms, after the United Kingdom has ceded city control in 1997.
Several large independent outlets in Hong Kong were closed and had the staff arrested since the security legislation supported by Beijing was adopted in 2020, then reinforced in 2024. Radio Free Asia closed its office in Hong Kong in March 2024.
In the Global Press Freedom classification published each year by journalists Without Borders, Hong Kong was located in 18th place in 180 countries and territories in 2002, but fell to 148th in 2022. The city ranking is now 140, between Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan.
Edited by Mat Pennington.