Facing budget crunches, Chinese tax collectors descend on companies

Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities are chasing unpaid taxes from companies and individuals dating back decades, as the government moves to plug massive budget shortfalls and address a mounting debt crisis. More than a dozen listed Chinese companies say they were slapped with millions of dollars in back taxes in a renewed effort to fix local finances that have been wrecked by a downturn in the property market that decimated land sales, a main source of revenues. The ruling Communist Party has pledged to repair local cash woes, but it’s more easily said than done. Experts question how thoroughly the party will follow through on its broad promises to improve the tax regime.