China will begin charging a 13% value-added tax on contraceptives starting Jan. 1 while exempting childcare services from the same tax, a move authorities say is part of a broader effort to boost births as the country faces a sustained population decline, according to the BBC and the Associated Press.The tax overhaul, announced late last year, removes exemptions that had been in place since 1994, when China was still enforcing its decades-long one-child policy.Alongside the new tax on contraceptives such as condoms and birth control pills, the Chinese government is exempting childcare, marriage-related services and elderly care from value-added tax (VAT), the BBC reported.Beijing has been pressing young people to marry and have children as it grapples with an aging population and a sluggish economy. Official figures show China’s population has shrunk for three consecutive years, with about 9.54 million babies born in 2024.WHY GEN Z DOESN’T WANT TO HAVE KIDSThat figure is roughly half the number of births recorded a decade earlier, when China began easing limits on family size, according to national statistics cited by the BBC and AP.China’s population pressures have been mounting for years. Births fell from about 14.7 million in 2019 to roughly 9.5 million in 2024. In 2023, India officially overtook China as the world’s most populous country.The new tax on contraceptives has drawn ridicule and concern inside China. On social media, some users joked about stockpiling condoms before prices rise while others argued that the cost of contraception is insignificant compared with the…

Continue reading →

China will begin charging a 13% value-added tax on contraceptives starting Jan. 1 while exempting childcare services from the same tax, a move authorities say is part of a broader effort to boost births as the country faces a sustained population decline, according to the BBC and the Associated Press.The tax overhaul, announced late last year, removes exemptions that had been in place since 1994, when China was still enforcing its decades-long one-child policy.Alongside the new tax on contraceptives such as condoms and birth control pills, the Chinese government is exempting childcare, marriage-related services and elderly care from value-added tax (VAT), the BBC reported.Beijing has been pressing young people to marry and have children as it grapples with an aging population and a sluggish economy. Official figures show China’s population has shrunk for three consecutive years, with about 9.54 million babies born in 2024.WHY GEN Z DOESN’T WANT TO HAVE KIDSThat figure is roughly half the number of births recorded a decade earlier, when China began easing limits on family size, according to national statistics cited by the BBC and AP.China’s population pressures have been mounting for years. Births fell from about 14.7 million in 2019 to roughly 9.5 million in 2024. In 2023, India officially overtook China as the world’s most populous country.The new tax on contraceptives has drawn ridicule and concern inside China. On social media, some users joked about stockpiling condoms before prices rise while others argued that the cost of contraception is insignificant compared with the…

Continue reading →

China will begin charging a 13% value-added tax on contraceptives starting Jan. 1 while exempting childcare services from the same tax, a move authorities say is part of a broader effort to boost births as the country faces a sustained population decline, according to the BBC and the Associated Press.The tax overhaul, announced late last year, removes exemptions that had been in place since 1994, when China was still enforcing its decades-long one-child policy.Alongside the new tax on contraceptives such as condoms and birth control pills, the Chinese government is exempting childcare, marriage-related services and elderly care from value-added tax (VAT), the BBC reported.Beijing has been pressing young people to marry and have children as it grapples with an aging population and a sluggish economy. Official figures show China’s population has shrunk for three consecutive years, with about 9.54 million babies born in 2024.WHY GEN Z DOESN’T WANT TO HAVE KIDSThat figure is roughly half the number of births recorded a decade earlier, when China began easing limits on family size, according to national statistics cited by the BBC and AP.China’s population pressures have been mounting for years. Births fell from about 14.7 million in 2019 to roughly 9.5 million in 2024. In 2023, India officially overtook China as the world’s most populous country.The new tax on contraceptives has drawn ridicule and concern inside China. On social media, some users joked about stockpiling condoms before prices rise while others argued that the cost of contraception is insignificant compared with the…

Continue reading →

China will begin charging a 13% value-added tax on contraceptives starting Jan. 1 while exempting childcare services from the same tax, a move authorities say is part of a broader effort to boost births as the country faces a sustained population decline, according to the BBC and the Associated Press.The tax overhaul, announced late last year, removes exemptions that had been in place since 1994, when China was still enforcing its decades-long one-child policy.Alongside the new tax on contraceptives such as condoms and birth control pills, the Chinese government is exempting childcare, marriage-related services and elderly care from value-added tax (VAT), the BBC reported.Beijing has been pressing young people to marry and have children as it grapples with an aging population and a sluggish economy. Official figures show China’s population has shrunk for three consecutive years, with about 9.54 million babies born in 2024.WHY GEN Z DOESN’T WANT TO HAVE KIDSThat figure is roughly half the number of births recorded a decade earlier, when China began easing limits on family size, according to national statistics cited by the BBC and AP.China’s population pressures have been mounting for years. Births fell from about 14.7 million in 2019 to roughly 9.5 million in 2024. In 2023, India officially overtook China as the world’s most populous country.The new tax on contraceptives has drawn ridicule and concern inside China. On social media, some users joked about stockpiling condoms before prices rise while others argued that the cost of contraception is insignificant compared with the…

Continue reading →