China has placed tax on condoms, contraceptive drugs and devices scrapping, a tax exemption that had been in place for more than 30 years, effective January 1, as part of renewed efforts to reverse its declining birth rate.
As a result, condoms and contraceptive pills are now subject to a 13 per cent value-added tax, the standard rate applied to most consumer goods.
The move comes as Beijing struggles to lift birth rates in the world’s second-largest economy, after China’s population fell for a third straight year in 2024, with experts warning the decline is likely to continue.
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In response, the government last year exempted childcare subsidies from personal income tax and introduced an annual childcare allowance, alongside other “fertility-friendly” measures rolled out in 2024.
These included urging colleges and universities to offer “love education” aimed at promoting positive attitudes towards marriage, fertility and family life.
China’s top leaders reaffirmed these goals last month at the annual Central Economic Work Conference, pledging to encourage “positive marriage and childbearing attitudes” to stabilise birth rates.
China’s birth rate has been in long-term decline, largely due to the one-child policy enforced between 1980 and 2015 and rapid urbanisation.
High childcare and education costs, job insecurity and a slowing economy have also discouraged many young people from marrying and starting families.