Since November 2023, at least five independent media outlets in Hong Kong, including Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP), InMedia, The Witness, ReNews, and Boomhead have been hit with retroactive tax demands issued by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), according to the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA). Disturbingly, the HKJA itself has also come under audit.
“These tax probes mirror tactics seen in authoritarian regimes around the world, where authorities use bureaucratic pressure to intimidate critical media,” said Beh Lih Yi, Asia Program Coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). “Auditing journalists and their families without clear cause threatens not only press freedom but also undermines Hong Kong’s credibility as a safe place to do business.”
HKJA chairperson Selina Cheng, who is personally under audit alongside her parents, described the investigations as citing unreported income from 2017 to 2019, including factual errors and what she calls “unreasonable” claims. Collectively, the IRD has issued demands totaling HK$700,000 (US$89,450) to the outlets and the HKJA itself. Additionally, over 20 individual journalists, former board members, and even family members—have received further tax claims that could total up to HK$1 million (US$127,900).
HKFP confirmed it is undergoing an extensive seven-year audit, reportedly the result of a “random selection.”
Since the Beijing-imposed National Security Law came into effect in 2020, press freedom in Hong Kong has declined dramatically. Independent news organizations such as Apple Daily and Stand News were forced to shut down. Journalists have faced surveillance, arrest, and imprisonment—shocking shifts in a city once known for its vibrant press.
At Free Press Alliance, we urge the Inland Revenue Department to make those procedures transparent. Using audits to intimidate or suppress independent media sets a dangerous precedent and severely undermines the foundations of a free society.