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JUNK DRAWER = secret treasure chest / China to impose tax on condoms in effort to reverse declining birth rate
« Last post by raul on Today at 02:06:31 pm »China to impose tax on condoms in effort to reverse declining birth rate
By Minh Nga December 5, 2025 | 03:05 pm PT
China to impose tax on condoms in effort to reverse declining birth rate
China will impose a 13% tax on condoms and other contraceptives starting next year, ending a three-decade tax-exemption policy as the country struggles with a severe population decline.
The revised Value-Added Tax (VAT) Law states that consumers must pay 13% VAT on birth-control products that have been exempt since 1993.
At the time, Beijing removed the tax to promote family planning and enforce the one-child policy, Bloomberg reported.
The decision to reintroduce taxes on contraception marks a major policy shift, signaling Beijing’s move from limiting births to encouraging them. The reversal comes as China faces a deepening demographic crisis. The population shrank for the third consecutive year in 2024, with only 9.54 million births recorded, according to Reuters.
It cited data from the National Bureau of Statistics to show China's population fell by 1.39 million to 1.408 billion last year, down from 1.409 billion in 2023.
China's birth rate has been declining for decades due to the long-running one-child policy, in effect from 1980 to 2015, as well as rapid urbanization and rising living costs.
Alongside the new tax on contraceptives, the updated VAT law introduces several incentives aimed at reducing the financial burden on young families, as reported by Newsweek.
Tax exemptions, will be applied from January 2026 to childcare expenses from nursery to kindergarten, as well as to contributions to eldercare services, disability support and marriage-related services.
The central government has already implemented a wide range of pro-birth measures, including cash subsidies, expanded childcare services and extended parental leave for both parents. In July, China introduced a nationwide childcare subsidy of 3,600 yuan (US$503) per year for each child under age three. The subsidy is exempt from individual income tax and will not be counted as household income when assessing eligibility for social assistance, according to China Daily.
Authorities have also issued guidelines to reduce non-medically necessary abortions — a stark contrast to the coercive sterilization and forced abortion practices seen during the height of the one-child policy.
Still, experts question whether reinstating the VAT on contraception will meaningfully affect birth rates. Demographer He Yafu of the YuWa Population Research Institute told Newsweek that ending the tax exemption is unlikely to shift demographic trends.
However, he said the move reflects the government’s broader effort to foster a more "birth-friendly" social environment.
Financial pressure remains the biggest obstacle for couples considering having children. A 2024 YuWa report found that China is among the most expensive countries in the world to raise a child, with parents spending an estimated 538,000 yuan ($76,000) to support one child to age 18, more than six times China’s GDP per capita. This ratio far exceeds that of developed countries such as Germany (3.64 times) and Japan (4.26 times). Meanwhile, a sluggish economy and an unstable job market have led many young people to prioritize their careers and personal stability over starting a family.
News of the new tax quickly ignited heated debate on Weibo, China’s social media platform. Many users expressed concern that making condoms more expensive could increase unintended pregnancies and worsen the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
According to China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the HIV/AIDS infection rate rose from 0.37 to 8.41 per 100,000 people between 2002 and 2021, largely due to unsafe sex and limited sex-education awareness.
"If people can’t afford condoms, how can they afford to raise children?" one Weibo user wrote, while others criticized the policy as misguided at a time of rising HIV rates among young people.
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/china-to-impose-tax-on-condoms-in-effort-to-reverse-declining-birth-rate-4989861.html#:~:text=China%20to%20impose%20tax%20on%20condoms%20in%20effort%20to%20reverse%20declining%20birth%20rate,-By%20Minh%20Nga&text=China%20will%20impose%20a%2013,with%20a%20severe%20population%20decline.
By Minh Nga December 5, 2025 | 03:05 pm PT
China to impose tax on condoms in effort to reverse declining birth rate
China will impose a 13% tax on condoms and other contraceptives starting next year, ending a three-decade tax-exemption policy as the country struggles with a severe population decline.
The revised Value-Added Tax (VAT) Law states that consumers must pay 13% VAT on birth-control products that have been exempt since 1993.
At the time, Beijing removed the tax to promote family planning and enforce the one-child policy, Bloomberg reported.
The decision to reintroduce taxes on contraception marks a major policy shift, signaling Beijing’s move from limiting births to encouraging them. The reversal comes as China faces a deepening demographic crisis. The population shrank for the third consecutive year in 2024, with only 9.54 million births recorded, according to Reuters.
It cited data from the National Bureau of Statistics to show China's population fell by 1.39 million to 1.408 billion last year, down from 1.409 billion in 2023.
China's birth rate has been declining for decades due to the long-running one-child policy, in effect from 1980 to 2015, as well as rapid urbanization and rising living costs.
Alongside the new tax on contraceptives, the updated VAT law introduces several incentives aimed at reducing the financial burden on young families, as reported by Newsweek.
Tax exemptions, will be applied from January 2026 to childcare expenses from nursery to kindergarten, as well as to contributions to eldercare services, disability support and marriage-related services.
The central government has already implemented a wide range of pro-birth measures, including cash subsidies, expanded childcare services and extended parental leave for both parents. In July, China introduced a nationwide childcare subsidy of 3,600 yuan (US$503) per year for each child under age three. The subsidy is exempt from individual income tax and will not be counted as household income when assessing eligibility for social assistance, according to China Daily.
Authorities have also issued guidelines to reduce non-medically necessary abortions — a stark contrast to the coercive sterilization and forced abortion practices seen during the height of the one-child policy.
Still, experts question whether reinstating the VAT on contraception will meaningfully affect birth rates. Demographer He Yafu of the YuWa Population Research Institute told Newsweek that ending the tax exemption is unlikely to shift demographic trends.
However, he said the move reflects the government’s broader effort to foster a more "birth-friendly" social environment.
Financial pressure remains the biggest obstacle for couples considering having children. A 2024 YuWa report found that China is among the most expensive countries in the world to raise a child, with parents spending an estimated 538,000 yuan ($76,000) to support one child to age 18, more than six times China’s GDP per capita. This ratio far exceeds that of developed countries such as Germany (3.64 times) and Japan (4.26 times). Meanwhile, a sluggish economy and an unstable job market have led many young people to prioritize their careers and personal stability over starting a family.
News of the new tax quickly ignited heated debate on Weibo, China’s social media platform. Many users expressed concern that making condoms more expensive could increase unintended pregnancies and worsen the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
According to China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the HIV/AIDS infection rate rose from 0.37 to 8.41 per 100,000 people between 2002 and 2021, largely due to unsafe sex and limited sex-education awareness.
"If people can’t afford condoms, how can they afford to raise children?" one Weibo user wrote, while others criticized the policy as misguided at a time of rising HIV rates among young people.
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/china-to-impose-tax-on-condoms-in-effort-to-reverse-declining-birth-rate-4989861.html#:~:text=China%20to%20impose%20tax%20on%20condoms%20in%20effort%20to%20reverse%20declining%20birth%20rate,-By%20Minh%20Nga&text=China%20will%20impose%20a%2013,with%20a%20severe%20population%20decline.
