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ARTICLE · 19 JUNE 2023

Is It Time To Tax The Robots?

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AI and the wave of automation that it heralds opens a world of possibilities, but it also threatens jobs. Could a tax on robots help ease the transition?

BelgiumTax
Sylvie Dumortier (Claeys & Engels)
Sylvie Dumortier (Claeys & Engels)

AI and the wave of automation that it heralds opens a world of possibilities, but it also threatens jobs. Could a tax on robots help ease the transition?

For decades, technology and automation have catalysed massive economic growth and driven improvements in working conditions for many. At the same time, they have also been a source of pessimistic forecasts about the destruction of jobs. Still, history shows us that as humans we have always managed to reinvent ourselves. A recent report by Goldman Sachs estimates that Artificial Intelligence could replace as many as 300 million jobs, while creating only 97 million over the same period. In this context, the question of a tax on robots has come up again.

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