Have you ever heard of science fiction like taxing robots? "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" reported on May 25 that the reason for discussing the taxation of robots is because if high-functional robots equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) are popularized in factories and enterprises, many people will lose their jobs. Therefore, some people believe that in order to support the unemployed, it is necessary to tax robots.

 

In 2016, the European Parliament put forward a proposal to tax robots. This has also triggered a wide range of heated discussions on this topic from all walks of life. Although the proposal was rejected in February 2017, it is said to curb the excessive use of robots, and the European Parliament is discussing the formulation of relevant laws.

 

 

 

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft in the United States, agreed with the proposal to tax robots. Robert Schiller, a Nobel laureate in economics and a professor at Yale University in the United States, also expressed his understanding that "if the tax from robots is used for the vocational training of workers, it will help alleviate their psychological pain." It is predicted that nearly half of the laborers in the United States will be unemployed due to the emergence of robots. The sense of crisis that a large number of unemployment affects the operation of the economy has aroused people's attention to the robot tax.

 

In Japan, the chief researcher of the Tokyo Foundation, who understands the tax system, Shigeki Mori, pointed out that “the time has come to formulate a new tax system to deal with massive unemployment.” He advocated a mechanism to levy taxes on intangible assets such as AI and robot patents developed by the government. However, it has not yet triggered widespread discussions in Japan.

 

 

 

Japan is a big robot country. The mechanization of the manufacturing process has improved production efficiency and enhanced competitiveness. Statistics show that the scale of robot utilization in Japan's automobile manufacturing industry is about 1.4 times that of the United States and Germany. Perhaps it is precisely because robots are the basis of competitiveness that the topic of taxation is difficult to trigger discussion. Koichi Iwamoto, a chief researcher at the Japan Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, pointed out that "If a tax is imposed on robots, the auto industry that uses the most robots will move factories overseas, and the employment situation will deteriorate."

 

Thirty-two years ago, Japan also had a proposal to tax robots. At the time, Japanese Socialist Party member An Heng Ryoichi said in a parliament proposal that "the taxation of robots must be seriously discussed." Later, the emerging service industry created a large number of jobs and absorbed employment, and Anheng's concerns did not become a reality. However, robots can do more and more jobs in the future, and such worries may not be unfounded.

 

When jokingly said that robot tax is "nonsense", maybe one day, our tax will be calculated by AI.