The core institution of the Chinese Communist Party’s financial system, the State Administration of Taxation, continues to be shaken up in the officialdom. On April 28th, Hu Jinmu, former Party Secretary and Deputy Director of the Guangdong Provincial Taxation Bureau of the National Taxation Administration of the CCP, was expelled from the Party.
Hu Jinmu was accused of colluding with others to provide false alibis, transferring and concealing assets, obstructing investigation; accepting banquets, travel activities, hospitality services, arranging household services in violation of regulations, renting turnover houses for profit; using his authority for personal gain, unlawfully accepting enormous sums of money; engaging in business and establishing enterprises in violation of rules, and using his influence from his previous position for the benefit of relatives and friends, among other charges.
Hu Jinmu was accused of serious violations of duty and suspected of bribery, leading to his expulsion from the Party and the termination of his benefits.
66-year-old Hu Jinmu, a native of Tongcheng, Hubei Province, previously served as Deputy Director of the Import and Export Tax Revenue Management Department of the State Administration of Taxation, Director of the Policy and Regulations Department of the State Administration of Taxation, among other positions. In 2005, he was transferred to the Shandong Provincial Tax Bureau as Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Secretary of the Party Committee, and Director. In 2011, he served as Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Guangdong Provincial Tax Bureau, and was promoted to Director the following year.
After the so-called tax reform by the Chinese Communist Party in 2018, Hu Jinmu was appointed as the Joint Secretary and Deputy Director of the Party Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Taxation Bureau of the State Administration of Taxation, and as the Secretary and Deputy Director of the Party Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Taxation Bureau.
This year has seen four senior officials of the State Administration of Taxation fall from grace, namely Zeng Zhongtao, former Chief Accountant of the Fujian Provincial Taxation Bureau; Shi Peng, former Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Taxation Bureau; Yang Jianglong, former Director of the Personnel Department of the National Taxation Administration; and Jin Shihao, former Level-Two Inspector of the Shanxi Provincial Taxation Bureau.
Hu Jinmu was placed under investigation on December 4, 2023. In that year, officials of the State Administration of Taxation were frequently dealt with.
On November 28, 2023, Wang Jun, Secretary of the Party Committee of the State Administration of Taxation, was removed from office; on November 16, Li Guanghui, Deputy Director of the International Taxation Department of the State Administration of Taxation, was investigated; on October 23, Bai Peng, former Level-One Inspector of the Jiangsu Provincial Taxation Bureau of the State Administration of Taxation, was brought down; on September 4, Rao Yong, former Deputy Inspector of the Sichuan Provincial Taxation Bureau of the State Administration of Taxation, was investigated; on August 28, Zhao Guoji, former Inspector of the Revenue Management and Technology Development Department of the State Administration of Taxation, was investigated.
Political commentator Li Yanming previously analyzed that the State Administration of Taxation of the Chinese Communist Party is a core institution of the CCP’s financial system. During the rule of Jiang Zemin, it, like the CCP Central Bank and Ministry of Finance, was long controlled by the Shanghai clique. This wave of cleansing in the tax system indicates an escalation in infighting among the top echelons of the CCP in their quest for control of the “money bag.”
(Previously reported: Change of Leadership at the State Administration of Taxation of the Chinese Communist Party Leads to Escalation of Power Struggle)