On Taxing Robots

In 2017 I published an article about the notion of taxing automation - concerns about automation were rising, partly due to rapid development of self-driving vehicles. Bill Gates would float a tax on automation (something he has done again recently.) This prompted me to highlight a similar proposal in the 1940s:

Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Mar 22, 1940

I interviewed a number of economists about why it would have been a mistake then, and why it would have be a mistake in 2017. David Autor, of MIT’s Economics Department, told me that O’Mahoney’s suggestion “really shows why taxing automation is a timelessly bad idea.” You can read the full interview here.

It turns out it would have been a mistake then too - corroborated by a number of labor shortages that is stifling economic growth. Will it be a mistake now, too? I plan on reaching out to those same economists and publish a follow up with each of them here.