In brief
In an alarming development for press freedom, Hong Kong's journalists are now facing tax inspections, compounding their struggles with censorship and arrests.
Journalists in Hong Kong are grappling with heightened concerns regarding their professional and personal freedoms, as recent reports indicate that several news organizations and their founders have come under scrutiny by tax authorities. The Hong Kong Journalists Association announced that their union, alongside six independent media outlets, is being subjected to extensive tax inspections, further complicating an environment already fraught with self-censorship and fear stemming from a national security crackdown initiated five years ago.This new wave of tax investigations has reportedly affected not only the journalists directly involved but also their families. The association noted that many of those being investigated have been asked for significant amounts of financial documentation, sometimes covering a span of seven years, even when there is little evidence to substantiate the claims. Selina Cheng, chair of the association, stressed the disproportionate strain this places on journalists, whose incomes are modest to begin with. "We are not high earners; dealing with these tax claims only adds to our burden," Cheng remarked, emphasizing the need for journalists to divert their time and resources to prove their innocence in these taxing investigations. The Inland Revenue Department maintains that the number of tax audits remains low, with approximately 1,800 inquiries conducted from 2023 to 2024, asserting that the profession of the taxpayers involved does not influence their review processes. Nonetheless, the association views these investigations as an alarming tactic of intimidation against media practitioners in the region, aggravating the already precarious state of press freedom in Hong Kong.
