A finance professional was alerted by mainland Chinese tax authorities regarding her need to accurately declare all income, including overseas earnings. The incident suggests increased governmental scrutiny over international trading and undeclared assets.

When a friend received a text message from the mainland Chinese tax authorities asking her to ensure that all her declared income – including income from abroad – was accurate, Fan, a finance professional who asked that her full name not be used, was shocked. Her friend was now coordinating with the authorities to settle the outstanding taxes on her overseas trading, she said, adding that “there is no alternative but to comply” with such texts and that the incident had left her on guard about...