Taxing Robots

Helping the Economy to Adapt to the Use of Artificial Intelligence

Xavier Oberson, Professor, University of Geneva, Switzerland

The increasing use of artificial intelligence within the workplace is likely to cause significant disruption to the labour market and in turn, to the economy, due to a reduction in the number of taxable workers. In this innovative book, Xavier Oberson proposes taxing robots as a possible solution to the anticipated problem of declining tax revenues.

‘This book provides a thoughtful examination of the potential impact of robots on the tax system and explores the possibility of robots becoming taxpayers.’
– Jinyan Li, Canadian Tax Journal

“这本书采用整体分析的话题of robots’ taxation and is ambitious in seeking to touch upon all of the main issues that the topic raises and will raise in the future. It contains a significant number of inputs and it consults all of the relevant literature. Although the solutions proposed are at a very early stage of development and mainly conceptual, the book fits perfectly in the current debate on this topic and, therefore, may be welcomed warmly by the entire international tax community as a good starting point for further elaborations.’
– Francesco Cannas, British Tax Review

‘Oberson's book is just the last, welcome addition to the narrative about the impact of taxation on the course of human – and, in this case, beyond – civilization, which is certainly worth reading. Overall, the reviewer doubts that, in the future, a robot – however “smart” it might be – could conceive such a passionate book on such an intriguing subject.’
– Giorgio Beretta, Intertax

‘Professor Xavier Oberson discusses one of the most pressing challenges facing our society: how taxation could help the economy to adapt to the increasing use of AI. Timely and thought-provoking, this readable contribution shows the direction in which nations would eventually meet their revenue needs in highly disruptive environments.’
– Yoshihiro Masui, University of Tokyo, Japan