The government in China is going to try a new solution to fix the falling birth rate. This solution is to make sex expensive. For the first time in three decades, condoms and contraceptive drugs are going to be taxed in China.
Under China's newly amended value-added tax law, consumers will have to pay 13 percent tax on condoms, contraceptive pills and other contraceptive items from January 1, 2016. These products were exempt from tax since 1993, which was part of China's one child policy. Under the one child policy, heavy fines were imposed in China from 1980 to 2015 on families having more than one child.
China troubled by declining birth rate
This policy is meant to stop the declining birth rate in the country and reduce the long-term effects of an aging population and a shrinking workforce. Along with imposing tax on contraceptive items, officials are also giving incentives to encourage childbearing. This includes tax breaks for childcare services, elderly care institutions and those providing services to the disabled, as well as longer maternity leave. In cities like Beijing, maternity leave has been increased from 128 days to 158 days. 30 days paid paternity leave has also been proposed.
China's declining population
Despite these measures, people are not producing more children. Increasing difficulties in finding jobs and the cost of raising children are preventing youth from starting a family. Even after relaxing the limit of two children in 2015 and three children in 2021, China's population is continuously declining. The country has been witnessing a continuous decline in population for the last three years. In the year 2023, India overtook China as the most populous country.
People angry over tax on condoms
The number of children born in China fell further from a 60-year low of 14.7 million in 2019 to 95 million in 2014. Despite this, contraceptives have mostly been cheap and easily available in China. However, their prices are going to increase after tax. People are criticizing this tax on social media. According to the report of Time Magazine, a user wrote on Rednote that when I saw that there was going to be a tax on condoms, I got very angry. Is it that easy to make money from us working people? Are condom prices also going to increase?
The user told that he has ordered too much stock. Many others have shared photos of their stockpiled condoms online ahead of the tax increase. Another user posted that 'In the end it is always the common people who suffer.' Another joked: 'Not only can we no longer afford to have children, we can no longer afford sex.'
