China’s tax crackdown shakes A-share and Hong Kong-listed firms with major payouts

China’s anti-tax evasion campaign is sweeping across the A-share and Hong Kong stock markets, with at least 80 listed firms already having been ordered to pay back corporate income taxes and late fees to local authorities. The number of listed companies involved in the first half of the year is likely to soon surpass the total of 89 for full-year 2025, raising concerns that Beijing’s taxation drive could be extended amid local debt black holes, which would threaten corporate earnings, cash flows