(NewsNation) — China’s government is set to impose a value-added tax on contraceptives, including condoms, for the first time in three decades as the country attempts to reverse declining birth rates.
Under the revised tax law, consumers will have to pay a 13% levy on contraceptive drugs and devices for the first time since 1993, as reported by Bloomberg. It will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
China’s population, the second-largest in the world, has shrunk for three consecutive years, with 9.54 million births in 2024, only half of the 18.8 million registered a decade ago when the country’s one-child policy was lifted.
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The shift in tax policy comes as China’s government seeks to mitigate the economic downsides of an aging and shrinking population. The revision also includes the removal of value-added tax on childcare services, elder-care institutions and marriage-related services to further promote family creation.
HIV has been on the rise in China, and critics of the tax policy worry the increase in contraception price could lead to riskier sex practices and cause STD rates to skyrocket.
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