A small but increasingly vocal number of Chinese are beginning to complain about taxes, placing their government in the unfamiliar position of having to defend — and sometimes change — its fiscal policies.

It is hardly any kind of popular uprising and is certainly not an organized movement like the anti-establishment Tea Party in the United States. Still, expressions of discontent about taxes are significant in the controlled world of Chinese politics. The economic consequences are also big, with taxation one of the keys to unlocking China’s long-suppressed domestic demand.

The emergence of taxes as a public concern has been on display this week at the National People’s Congress, the country’s annual session of parliament which features scripted meetings and next to no real debate.