Bill Gates: robots should pay taxes

[JA]

What a horrible idea. You'd think Gates would know better than to suggest taxing productivity and automation. Yes, people are displaced by increased automation such as, for example, the thousands or more typist and clerk jobs displaced by Microsoft products that improved computer software and productivity. Would Gates have supported a tax on that as well? By taxing something, you get less of it. So by taxing productivity and automation, you'll get less productivity and less automation. Is this what we want? Should the looms have been taxed because they led to displacement of artisans?

No, you don't tax productivity, you tax income and consumption. If automation leads to increased productivity and decreased expenses, then the cost of products decreases as their availability increases. This results in higher profits for businesses and corporations. That in turn likely results in higher wages for management and owners. Thus, the money you would've gotten from taxing workers you'll still get from taxing managers and businesses; the tax base won't diminish. You can also tax consumption, such as a sales tax. Perhaps it's time to consider implementing a progressive sales tax as well, which Gates had once proposed. This way we can still get the tax revenue from the productivity of machines without directly taxing (and, subsequently, discouraging) automation.

The goal Gates should be pushing for is a steeper redistribution of wealth and a universal basic income. Taxing robots instead is ridiculous.