China’s latest effort to boost birth rate includes taxing condoms and other contraceptives

On the first day of 2026, China imposed a 13 per cent value-added tax on condoms and contraceptives, ending the tax-free status that had applied to such products for 32 years. The policy shift is just one of many attempts by Beijing to lift China’s dwindling birth rate. The country is also imposing other measures to reduce the cost of bearing children and boost marriage numbers.