Taxing Robots

Bill Gates recently suggested taxing future generations of automation technology and robotics.

He went on to say that, today, workers are taxed on their income, so “If a robot comes in to do the same thing, you’d think that we’d tax the robot at a similar level.”

This, he opined, could slow down automation and provide funding to support the transition of displaced workers into new careers.

The intent of this suggestion is to soften the likely economic blow that that manufacturing jobs will see at an increasing pace with imminent advances in technology.

Technology and automation in most cases open up more employment than they take away, but are now at a more disruptive pace than ever.

When technology makes something easier to produce, the product often times becomes less expensive, easier to access. Technology creates jobs.

Easier to access can likely lead to increased demand and more jobs.

ATMs, for example, transitioned money dispensing and check depositing from bank tellers, but bank teller employment has since grown in the U.S.

The number of full-time equivalent bank tellers has increased 2% per annum since the year 2000.

ATMs decreased the investments needed for banks to open new branches as fewer employees were now needed to “man” the bank.

Even with fewer tellers per branch, with more branches, the demand for tellers increased.

Of course, Gates is not against technology, innovation, and increasing jobs.

It’s transparently clear, though, that he sees an opportunity to transition into the future of automation as smoothly as possible.