Overview
- The policy took effect on January 1, ending a tax exemption in place since 1994 and placing condoms, birth-control pills and devices under the standard 13% VAT.
- Childcare, marriage-related services and elderly care are now exempt from VAT, alongside recent national measures such as childcare subsidies and allowances.
- Official figures show 9.54 million births in 2024 as the population declined for a third consecutive year.
- Chinese social media users mocked the change with calls to stock up on condoms and argued that the cost of raising children, not contraception prices, shapes family decisions.
- Demographers say the tax is unlikely to lift births and some view it as symbolic or revenue-driven, while reports of officials contacting women about menstrual and pregnancy plans have stoked concern.