Should robots pay income tax?

[Tank]

A French politician has suggested that if a robot removes a persons job the company must still pay the income tax of the replaced worker.

Given that about 30% of low pay manual handing jobs will potentially be replaced by robots in the next 20 years countries are facing a triple whammy. A swath of unemployed and unemployable young people, social security payments to stop them from starving and no tax revenue from them.

Is this a perfect storm for revolution or the beginning of the end of the consumer led capitalist society?

[No one]

Let's replace the politicians with robots, and tax their income. Two birds, one stone.

[Tank]

Let's replace the politicians with robots, and tax their income. Two birds, one stone.

How do we know that they haven't been replaced already?

[No one]

If they have, then we have some truly useless, idiotic robots running around.

[Tank]

If they have, then we have some truly useless, idiotic robots running around.

Well they'd have to fit in wouldn't they!

[Dave]

A French politician has suggested that if a robot removes a persons job the company must still pay the income tax of the replaced worker.

Given that about 30% of low pay manual handing jobs will potentially be replaced by robots in the next 20 years countries are facing a triple whammy. A swath of unemployed and unemployable young people, social security payments to stop them from starving and no tax revenue from them.

Is this a perfect storm for revolution or the beginning of the end of the consumer led capitalist society?

Not to mention all us baby boomers syphoning healthcare out of the system. Though I do still pay tax.

Since, in theory, those robot employers will get a better output who will have money to buy the stuff? The ramifications are a tad complex, bound to be a paper on it somewhere.

[Arturo]

For awhile now I've been concerned about automation in the workplace. Less tax revenue, high unemployment, no SS,  and a culture telling you to get a job.

If outsourcing jobs to other countries was the awakening, robots doing your jobs is the unraveling.

However I wonder what a fully automated society would look like and how it would be received.

[Tank]

For awhile now I've been concerned about automation in the workplace. Less tax revenue, high unemployment, no SS,  and a culture telling you to get a job.

If outsourcing jobs to other countries was the awakening, robots doing your jobs is the unraveling.

However I wonder what a fully automated society would look like and how it would be received.

Take away the space flight and Star Trek is a possible post capitalist society on Earth.

[Arturo]

For awhile now I've been concerned about automation in the workplace. Less tax revenue, high unemployment, no SS,  and a culture telling you to get a job.

If outsourcing jobs to other countries was the awakening, robots doing your jobs is the unraveling.

However I wonder what a fully automated society would look like and how it would be received.

Take away the space flight and Star Trek is a possible post capitalist society on Earth.

The gyms will be flooded with people with nothing to do ugh.

[Pasta Chick]

I've been turning this over in my head, and while I don't have an actual answer I don't believe taxing will work, at least in this manner. The company will simply come up with ways to make the robots more productive so they have less of them per profit (the entire point of robots to start), continuing to increase their output without paying in as much. At best it would delay the slide to full automation and stabilize things a bit while the profit margins are still lower per robot.

[Dave]

For awhile now I've been concerned about automation in the workplace. Less tax revenue, high unemployment, no SS,  and a culture telling you to get a job.

If outsourcing jobs to other countries was the awakening, robots doing your jobs is the unraveling.

However I wonder what a fully automated society would look like and how it would be received.

Take away the space flight and Star Trek is a possible post capitalist society on Earth.

The gyms will be flooded with people with nothing to do ugh.

Will they be able to pay the fees with no jobs? Or are the gyms over there cheap or even free?

[Dave]

I've been turning this over in my head, and while I don't have an actual answer I don't believe taxing will work, at least in this manner. The company will simply come up with ways to make the robots more productive so they have less of them per profit (the entire point of robots to start), continuing to increase their output without paying in as much. At best it would delay the slide to full automation and stabilize things a bit while the profit margins are still lower per robot.

And I can't see the Reps putting up company property and profit taxes if that happens.

[Pasta Chick]

I've been turning this over in my head, and while I don't have an actual answer I don't believe taxing will work, at least in this manner. The company will simply come up with ways to make the robots more productive so they have less of them per profit (the entire point of robots to start), continuing to increase their output without paying in as much. At best it would delay the slide to full automation and stabilize things a bit while the profit margins are still lower per robot.

And I can't see the Reps putting up company property and profit taxes if that happens.

Exactly. Especially if it started off as a per robot employee tax, which by the time we get to that point will likely be hacked and changed and amended to near dysfunction anyway.

[Davin]

I think it's a step towards robots being treated as people. Taxation without representation and all that. And I think that should wait until the machines are actually sentient.

[Dave]

I think it's a step towards robots being treated as people. Taxation without representation and all that. And I think that should wait until the machines are actually sentient.

Hmm, the "taxation without representation" bit would surely only apply if the robots themselves were paid a salary? As is robots are non-sentient "mechanical slave labour" with no need of rights. Their care and maitenance is purely an economic need on the part of their owners.

Yes, if sentient, aware of their own existence and a need to maintain themselves emotionaly and physically, and given rights in society - yup, pay pay 'em and tax 'em! Recently read a sci-fi novel where bots were sentient and autonomous, had their own leader, were "contracted" for work, could turn work down and were protected legally from "botnapping" and "boticide". Whether or not they could vote was never mentioned.