Is Taxing of Robots Looming on Horizon?

written by: Amr Samy Abdelraheem

CAIRO, Nov. 17 (SEE)-The world has witnessed a massive progress in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics over the past few years and it is expected, undoubtedly, to have unmanned vehicles, special robots for preparing food, manufacturing robots to be used.

It is worthy noting that a large part of the revenues of state governments rely heavily on taxes, which include taxes imposed on manufacturing companies.

In addition, there is no doubt that robots will replace many workers, especially those with low skills. So, the question here is: How can governments minimize the negative effects of Artificial Intelligence applications and how can they manage their finances in the presence of AI?

Bill Gates thinks the answer is simply "taxing robots". So, is it a good idea? This is a tricky question that requires a thoughtful analysis.

Bill Gates, the proponent of the idea, assumes that in the same way that labor are taxed (such as income taxes), and if robots will replace human beings, then it must face the same fate.

Gates considers it a good way to support the low-income and those who truly need it but this will slow the deployment of "automation", which is necessary, to give the community more time to adapt to the potential decline in employment.

These kinds of taxes would make technology companies support those who are affected and reduce inequities in distribution.

On the other hand, the very exact definition of a robot is still not precisely determined. What separates a tool from a robot or a complex computer program from artificial intelligence applications?

For example, is the vending machine an alternative robot for humans? What about a vending machine that can automatically alert its owner when the product is about to expire? What about a small machine that can answer complex customer questions? It turns out that defining what a robot is really a complex matter and will embarrass lawmakers if a law is enacted to tax robots.

Andrus Ansip, the current EU Commissioner for the Common Digital Market and Vice-President of the European Commission, confirmed that imposing taxes on robots will not be on the table because by doing so, the technology progress would be hurdled.

As previously shown, it is a tricky question but if there is no way else but to impose taxes on robots, then the robots must first be well defined and the taxes must be implemented for an agreed, specific period of time until other suitable policies emerge, so as to avoid any kind of plan that would hinder the train of innovation.

[caption id="attachment_23477" align="alignnone" width="757"] Amr Samy Abdelraheem[/caption]