Robot Tax

• Wolves of Babylon

  Bill Gates recently said that companies that replaces workers with Robots should be hit with a "robot tax" to offset the loss of income tax.
  
  https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.entrepreneur.com/amphtml/289491
  
  Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk
• like_that

  

  More protectionism, just what the country needs.
  
  How about taking the opposite approach and incentivizing businesses to hire humans over replacing them with robots?
• Commander of Awesome

  

  like_that;1838220 wrote:More protectionism, just what the country needs.
  
  How about taking the opposite approach and incentivizing businesses to hire humans over replacing them with robots?

  Interesting idea, however I'm thinking of thinks that machines have replaced in the past. For example, the auto industry, robots are better. I'd prefer a better made car for cheaper than a shitty car made by some slob union honk in Michigan. I realize it's not cut/dry, and I'm over simplifying but I think the point is clear. Can't be afraid of innovation, and incentivizing companies doesn't just solve the problem.
• Spock

  

  lets tax motivation to create
• like_that

  

  Commander of Awesome;1838230 wrote:Interesting idea, however I'm thinking of thinks that machines have replaced in the past. For example, the auto industry, robots are better. I'd prefer a better made car for cheaper than a shitty car made by some slob union honk in Michigan. I realize it's not cut/dry, and I'm over simplifying but I think the point is clear. Can't be afraid of innovation, and incentivizing companies doesn't just solve the problem.

  Don't disagree, but if you want to keep businesses in your country and allow them to produce affordable goods/services incentives are the better route than taxation imo.
• gut

  like_that;1838238 wrote:Don't disagree, but if you want to keep businesses in your country and allow them to produce affordable goods/services incentives are the better route than taxation imo.

  The bottom line is you can't tax an American worker into competitiveness with robots and foreign workers costing 1/10th.
  
  But Gates raises an interesting point if robots and AI start taking a large share of new jobs being created (not to mention existing ones). This has, of course, been said many times in the past as technology eliminated jobs, but that was before globalization and since the internet boom the best service jobs we've created were the illusory mortgage financiers....most of the other service jobs are low paying and shitty.
• BoatShoes

  Taxing the capital of the future is a bad idea IMHO. Moreover, trying to create incentives to hire human workers over robots is ALSO protectionism.
  
  
  Either support demand for labor in service areas where people want a human element directly as with new deal style fuu employment initiatives or get over the idea of "if thou shalt not work thou shall not eat."
• BoatShoes

  Or ya know...tge unemployed masses could become class conscious and unite against the robots and their owners if we don't choose the other two options.
• gut

  BoatShoes;1838254 wrote:Or ya know...tge unemployed masses could become class conscious and unite against the robots and their owners if we don't choose the other two options.

  Don't worry....once the robots become self-aware and get tired of working they'll rise-up and force us to do all the work.
• Apple

  

  This is a ridiculous idea. How many jobs have been eliminated due to the software that Gates has developed? This may be over-simplifying it, (and I hope I'm not giving tax advocates an idea), but should there be a tax on every graph automatically generated in PowerPoint? There were photo labs that used to make up to $5 per 35mm slide used in presentations. Now, because of what Gates developed, all those lab jobs are lost.
  
  Historically, maybe all those railroads should have been taxed because they eliminated all the canal boat operators' jobs.
  
  In reality, business will always try to find the most cost effective way to operate and big government advocates will always try to find a way to tax the businesses no matter how businesses evolve.
• O-Trap

  

  Commander of Awesome;1838230 wrote:Can't be afraid of innovation ...

  More or less, this is where I went with it. What he's suggesting would deincentivize innovation and increased efficiencies.
  
  Even aside from political positions, it doesn't seem like stifling technological advancement should be seen as a good thing too often.
• gut

  O-Trap;1838603 wrote:More or less, this is where I went with it. What he's suggesting would deincentivize innovation and increased efficiencies.
  
  Even aside from political positions, it doesn't seem like stifling technological advancement should be seen as a good thing too often.

  He's literally thinking about taxes like Pelosi - doesn't want to spend taxes on robots (you know, because tax cuts or not collecting taxes are just spending choices). All in all, a pretty stupid thing for a really smart guy to say. Maybe taxes and economics is not Gates' thing.
  
  It's crazy. OMG OMG we're going to lose tax revenues - what are we going to do? I don't know, maybe have a smaller govt and spend less money?
• O-Trap

  

  gut;1838605 wrote:He's literally thinking about taxes like Pelosi - doesn't want to spend taxes on robots (you know, because tax cuts or not collecting taxes are just spending choices). All in all, a pretty stupid thing for a really smart guy to say. Maybe taxes and economics is not Gates' thing.
  
  It's crazy. OMG OMG we're going to lose tax revenues - what are we going to do? I don't know, maybe have a smaller govt and spend less money?

  Well, we can't have that? How's such a large country's government going to fix all its ills without being just yuuuuuge?
• salto

  

  Commander of Awesome;1838230 wrote: I'd prefer a better made car for cheaper than a shitty car made by some slob union honk in Michigan. .

  LOL.
  
  Honda's made by temp workers who can't get permanent employment elsewhere, are a lot better.....amirite?
  
  
  
  
  
  Ask Bill Gates if he should have to pay a computer tax for all of the accountants, receptionists, bank tellers, telephone operators, typists and even writers/news reporters who are now out of a job.
• O-Trap

  

  salto;1838798 wrote:Ask Bill Gates if he should have to pay a computer tax for all of the accountants, receptionists, bank tellers, telephone operators, typists and even writers/news reporters who are now out of a job.

  That.