Condoms with higher VAT. This is how Beijing wants to influence demography

From January, Beijing will impose a 13% VAT tax on condoms, medicines and contraceptives, the AP reported on Friday. The change comes after 30 years and is related to China's hope to reverse negative demographic trends.

Commenters on social media mocked the decision, pointing out that it was anyway the costs of contraception subject to VAT will be much lower than the cost of raising and educating a child.

However, experts express concerns that Reducing condom use may increase public health risks. In recent years, the number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infections, has increased, the agency noted.

There is no official data on annual condom consumption in China, but data published by IndexBox, an international market analysis platform, shows that over the last 11 years, the number of condoms sold has increased.

Beijing wants to influence demographics

China, like many other countries, is struggling with a falling birth rate. In addition to economic and technological changes, it was caused by the one-child policy, which lasted over three decades and was introduced in the late 1970s. It was intended to slow down the dynamic population growth in a country that was still struggling with food shortages. It was enforced, often brutally, from around 1980 until 2015, when the government raised the birth limit to two children.

However, incentives and legal changes did not reverse the trends. The latest UN demographic projections show that China's population has entered a state of sustained decline. As estimated by the weekly “Newsweek”, next year in China there will be approximately 3.2 million fewer. people. Within five years, the decrease will amount to almost 18 million, by 2050 it will reach 140 million, and in 2100, China will have approximately 782.7 million fewer inhabitants than today – according to UN forecasts.

So China's leaders are trying to raise the birth rate using administrative tools and financial incentives. In recent years, more provinces and cities have introduced child care subsidies and financial incentives for families. Raising the prices of contraceptives is part of this trend, said the weekly. (PAP)

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