As of January 1, China’s authorities have scrapped tax incentives on contraceptives as part of a policy aimed at boosting birth rates, Reuters reports.
Condoms and oral contraceptive pills are now subject to the standard 13% value-added tax applied to consumer goods.
The preferential tax regime for contraceptives had been in place for nearly three decades—it was introduced at a time when Beijing was instead seeking to curb population growth.
By the end of 2025, China’s population had declined for a third consecutive year. Against this backdrop, the authorities are expanding measures to encourage childbirth and stepping up campaigns to promote marriage.
Efforts to reverse the demographic trend have been under way since the mid-2010s. Before that, the country pursued the opposite strategy for nearly four decades: “one family—one child”.