From 1 January, contraceptives will be subject to a 13% VAT rate – part of a carrot-and-stick approach by the government to increase births
China is set to impose a value-added tax (VAT) on condoms and other contraceptives for the first time in three decades, as the country tries to boost its birthrate and modernise its tax laws.
From 1 January, condoms and contraceptives will be subject to a 13% VAT rate – a tax from which the goods have been exempt since China introduced nationwide VAT in 1993.
The measure was buried in a VAT law passed in 2024 in an effort to modernise China’s tax regime. VAT accounts for nearly 40% of China’s total tax revenue.
Yeah, that’ll change the behavior of all the people who think it’s cheaper to have and raise a kid than pay another nickel everytime they use a condom.
I can’t imagine people who can’t afford moderately more expensive condoms can afford another child. I do suspect however that they can afford to spread venereal disease
That’s how you get surges of STDs among other awful things…
how dare you speak ill of China! CHINA IS THE BEST!
CHINA IS A NUMBER 1!
/s
Oh man, flashbacks to an ancient meme.
TAIWAN NUMBAH ONE, CHINA NUMBAH …FOURhttps://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/3tu2x4/if_you_shout_taiwan_no1_in_this_game_chinese/
I can’t believe this was 10 years ago.
Please tell me that nobody would give up condoms over a 13% price hike.
So you’re saying that I was right to express concerns in the recent post about China covering childbirth expenses, and that it wouldn’t stop there?
Original comment:
As long as people who don’t want to have children aren’t pressured. Not everyone is interested in parenting, and that needs to be accepted.
Well, that didn’t take long. The other post was earlier this week.
Because children are widely known as being very inexpensive to raise.
How much is the tax going to be? $20,000 per year?
Coming up next: China’s STD epidemic and what can we do about it?
That’s… Oh my God. That is such a bad idea, for so many reasons. But I think if the point is to expand your population, specifically the poorest and most uneducated, it hits the mark.
Oh no… That is the point, isn’t it?
The future ruling classes are going to need serfs.
Yeah it’s a great way to dilute the intelligence of a population while skewing voting toward more conservative representation. Half the US has similar values.
Humans have a natural drive to procreate (not just have sex), so if your population doesn’t want to have children, maybe look at what you’re doing to make them avoid this natural proclivity.
I’d argue the only real solution is a longer leave for both parents without affecting their careers. But it’s generally just not doable with their corporate culture.
Leaders of all “developed” nations need to look at this.
Birth rates are plummeting, and its not because of some religious children of men scenario or plastics in our sperm.
People just don’t want kids, and why would we? World is a shithole, everything costs too much and we are being constantly reminded that WW3 is just around the corner.
china has significantly worst, because of the one child policy, which heavily skewed the results as well. prefer male offspring over female ones, leading to massive imbalance, and its still be preferred.
Humans have a natural drive to procreate
Source?
The fact that there continue to be humans.
There continue to be atomic bombs. Do people have natural drive to build them?
I’m not even sure that comment really rises to the level of a counter arguement.
People have been around a lot longer than atomic bombs.
This is about protecting infants not about drive to procreation.
And how do we get these infants we love protecting?
This doesn’t say we have infants because we love protecting them. It says why we protect them once we have them. If you don’t understand this there’s really nothing to talk about. I will just assume there’s no proof for your first statement and it’s most probably false.
I’d argue the 8 billion people on this planet suggests it’s true.
In developing countries people have kids because it’s an investment. You need kids to help you work the fields, take care of the house and take care of you when you’re old. Infant mortality is high so family planning is difficult and people have a lot of kids. Once certain economical level is reached and people can count on social security to take care of them when they are old kids become an expense, not investment and, surprise surprise, people stop having kids. Almost universally in every developed country in the world birth rates are below replacement levels, even in countries with best social programs and highest life satisfaction. So no, it’s not true.
STI’s will be booming.
HIV: It’s free real estate
Time to buy metal coat hanger manufacturing stonks
China is run by morons. Restricting people to 1 child for decades was idiotic and this is nearly as stupid.
This is even more stupid. Even if you succeeded in making people have more unprotected sex, if people don’t want it, you’re still gonna have a bad time. The children who are born unwanted aren’t going to have as good of life as those wanted for many reasons. At least 1 child who was born previously got more resources and had better chances. Though both are stupid decisions, I agree. This one even more. And another reason - you hopefully see you’ve made a stupid decision in the past and should have not meddled with organic needs of people in such an extreme way. So then OBVIOUSLY, the solution is to double down, but in the opposite way. /s
Time for One Child (at least)-policy
I’m guessing the stance of the CCP on abortion is going from not good to dystopian.
I’m no expert but this really doesn’t seem like the right solve for falling birth rates.
they tried nothing and they are all out of ideas, its not unique to china either. they are tyring to avoid discussing the actual causes.
It’s not a problem to be solved. It’s something to be adapted to.
and not because of the generations of damage the one-child policy caused after it ended, and the HCOl,a nd the lack of job prospects for the over-degree’d holders that graduated plus the recent evergrande situation. instead they do this or use the invade taiwan rhetoric.
plus the increasing bitterness towards, china for trying to lure scientists/professionals from the usa to thier industries.
