The Robotic Revolution: A Tax Policy Collision Course

Volume 93, No. 2, Winter 2021

By Kathryn Kisska-Schulze & Rodney P. Mock [PDF]

As a matter of astute policy, this Article advances that Congress should not impose a robot tax. This Article is the first to conduct a significant literature review of the current proposals to tax robots, ultimately taking a contrarian view. It examines mankind’s historical connection to labor amid fears of automation substitution and proposes that implementing fear-based tax policy based on job displacement projections is unsound. In addition, this Article advances that “robot” cannot be defined for tax purposes because its characteristics are not clearly delineated. Finally, it concludes that the proper strategic course for U.S. tax policy is to encourage innovative robotics, rather than discourage it.

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