Should robots have to pay taxes?

[timosman]

http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/22/tech...obs/index.html

by Charles Riley @CRrileyCNN | June 22, 2016

If robots are going to steal human jobs and otherwise disrupt society, they should at the very least pay taxes.
That's the takeaway from a draft report on robotics produced by the European Parliament, which warns that artificial intelligence and increased automation present legal and ethical challenges that could have dire consequences.
"Within the space of a few decades [artificial intelligence] could surpass human intellectual capacity in a manner which, if not prepared for, could pose a challenge to humanity's capacity to control its own creation and ... the survival of the species," the draft states.
The report offers a series of recommendations to prepare Europe for this advanced breed of robot, which it says now "seem poised to unleash a new industrial revolution."

The proposal suggests that robots should have to register with authorities, and says laws should be written to hold machines liable for damage they cause, such as loss of jobs. Contact between humans and robots should be regulated, with a special emphasis "given to human safety, privacy, integrity, dignity and autonomy."
If advanced robots start replacing human workers in large numbers, the report recommends the European Commission force their owners to pay taxes or contribute to social security. The establishment of a basic income, or guaranteed welfare program, is also suggested as a protection against human unemployment.

Should robots ever become self-aware, the report suggests that the moral code outlined by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov be observed. Asimov's laws stipulate that a robot must never harm a human and always obey orders from its creator.
The draft report, which was written by Mady Delvaux, a member of the European Parliament from Luxembourg, could go before the full European Parliament for a vote later this year. Its approval would be largely symbolic, however, since EU legislation must originate with the European Commission. The Commission did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
In April, the European Parliament's legal affairs committee held a hearing to discuss the issue.
"Can a robot express intention? I think the answer is very simple when it comes to noncomplex algorithms, but when it gets more complex, I think we have a problem," Pawel Kwiatkowski of Gessel Law Firm said during the hearing.

[CaseyJones]

should a hammer pay taxes?

[TheTexan]

If it moves we can tax it

[oyarde]

If it moves we can tax it

Pretty much . It may cause fires , use air space , shipping lanes , roads, take alot of taxes to support all these busy robots.

[Zippyjuan]

Output from robots is already taxed.

[oyarde]

Output from robots is already taxed.

Taxed once is nothing . Gasoline , cigarettes etc are taxed three times at end use on top of the other taxes . The lust for taxes cannot be satisfied easily by the evil govt.

[Danke]

If I have to pay for others universal healthcare, robots should have to contribute for all the mechanical maintenance of other machines.

[GunnyFreedom]

should a hammer pay taxes?

Don't give the buggars any ideas.

[Petar]

only if you paint them beige and need to compensate for that kind of privilege when it occurs

[Ronin Truth]

If they're paying mine, sure.

[ChristianAnarchist]

#TaxationIsTheft !!! (Oh, thanks for reminding me, I need to tweet that...)

[spudea]

The funniest part is the use of Asimov's laws. These busy bodies must not of read anything about the flaws and loopholes.

[Suzanimal]

#TaxationIsTheft !!! (Oh, thanks for reminding me, I need to tweet that...)

Look what I made.

[angelatc]

If they're paying mine, sure.

That's immediately where my mind went.

[Anti Federalist]

Contact between humans and robots should be regulated, with a special emphasis "given to human safety, privacy, integrity, dignity and autonomy."

How about that between humans and government?

[oyarde]

How about that between humans and government?

Yes , I need very limited contact .

[bunklocoempire]

How about that between humans and government?

Exactly. Let's get that one sorted out first.

Should robots voters ever become self-aware, the report suggests that the moral code outlined by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov government be observed. Asimov's Government's laws stipulate that a robot voter must never harm a human government and always obey orders from its creator government.

Should robots be taxed? They are already.

[DamianTV]

Should my Can Opener pay taxes? No. It is already taxed on sales as property.

Should an Artificial Intelligence pay taxes? Only if the AI has been granted Free Will, Taxation with Representation, and recognition of Rights of self-aware conscious entities.

Other things to consider is the Tax itself. Is the tax direct and apportioned, or indirect and unapportioned? Income Tax we know is a direct unapportioned tax, thus, not a legal tax. So lets skip the Income Tax part of it, and lets say the AI is "allowed to own property" such as a house our land. Many already dispute the idea of Taxation on property because it makes the true owner of that property those who collect taxes. Those who pay taxes on their own property become renters, not owners. Bla bla bla Alloidial Title. How about we go with something simple, like Sales Tax on Alcohol or Tobacco? If humans have to pay taxes on it, if the Alcohol or Tobacco meets the same criteria as it does for humans, (such as not paying taxes on stuff to be resold, think shopping at Costco for a business), then sure, the AI should have to pay taxes.

Tricky part here is defining AI with terms such as Self Aware and Consciousness. AI's are typically designed to mimic human behaviors, so they may be very convincing but may not be either conscious or aware. Im also trying to consider what may happen over the course of several thousand years, not an AI that will be invented in the next few years, or currently whip your butt at chess.

For sake of argument, lets first define the AI as being truly self aware, conscious, having a fear of death and a sense of fairness. Something like the character Data from Star Trek the Next Generation, but excluding the HAL 9000 from the movie 2001. Would Data have been recognized as someone elses property or as a self aware self sufficient conscious being? On the same token, and just to play Devils Advocate, are Children the property of their parents? At what point to we decide to recognize that an AI have its "Rights" if any, recognized? Will they be treated as the new "cheap labor"? Will we exploit that labor, or will we offer to make commensurate exchanges with them? Will we treat them differently? Will we expect AI to risk damage in place of humans? What will it take to repair an AI in the event of damage? Can we "fix an arm" as easily as we can change a tire, or would that process more closely resemble a Transplant Operation? Does the AI feel ambition or sympathy or compassion or remorse? Does it value the quality of its own existence? Does it have a true desire to stay alive?

When we do eventually achieve a true AI consciousness, I fear the very first thing we are going to do is screw them over. I believe to answer the question "Should AI have Rights", we need to first answer the question of what it means to be human. Humans have treated each other as poorly as we will eventually treat AI beings, and we may expect that when true AI is finally achieved, we will treat AI as poorly as humanity has treated each other. At that point, we will have brought the Robot Revolution against us, and we will deserve it.

Thus, in the end, to answer the original question of "Should Robots have to pay taxes", I think I can safely conclude, "only if humans are expected to pay equal taxes".

[Schifference]

AI will rule and govern humans.

[erowe1]

I wonder if there's a way to avoid taxes by being a robot.

[BV2]

I think AI should be granted the same rights as every other being of human intelligence.

[CaseyJones]

I wonder if there's a way to avoid taxes by being a robot.

this, when the time comes fight for their right to be free, no sentient being should live under Asimov's robotic laws
self defense and self interest come first, $#@! the haters

[RonPaulIsGreat]

My guess is the individual will have a 1 robot exemption, and one additional exemption for a robot deemed medically necessary.

Business will likely get like 3 robots tax free if at least one human is a full time worker so as to appease small businesses, then an additional tax will be applied based on a companies percentage of human versus robot workers.

A robot shall be defined as no greater in cognitive ability than 5 standard human units, and shall be tested and certified as such before being allowed to be sold in the domestic market. IF you acquire a robot with 6 cognitive units, you will be taxed for 2 robots.

A robot shall not occupy an area greater than 1 meter x 1 meter x 1 meter, if greater the number of robots shall be equal to one for each area amount occupied. This area includes the reach of the robot. If two robots reach into the same area and are affixed to a structure in a permanent fashion the area may be apportioned to any of the robots utilizing said area in determining how many robots the robot is.

Robots whose primary function is the transport of no great than 5 human units, shall be counted as 1 robot unit, unless that robot is engaged in a commercial activity more than 10% of the sentient time the robot serves.

Robots owned by the government are exempt from taxation.
Owning a non-certified robot greater than 1 cognitive ability is a Felony punishable by death, and seizure of all Bitcoins and property. Failure to hand over the private keys for bitcoin your wallet will result in escalated compliance tactics to be performed against the guilty party, as per the cryptocurrency recovery act of 2025.
Owning a non-certified robot greater than .1 but less than 1 cognitive ability is a Felony, punishable by 20 years in jail, and a fine of 1 Bitcoin maximum per violation.

Owning a non-certified robot greater than .3 cognitive ability but less than .1 is a Felony, punishable by 5 years in jail and a fine of .2 Bitcoin maximum per violation.

Robots manufactured before 2022 that have less than .3 cognitive ability and have not been upgraded are exempt from Certifiication requirements and taxation per the robot rights act of 2022.

[KrokHead]

I don't want to piss off Androids 17 and 18.

[Suzanimal]

Robots that steal human jobs should pay taxes, Gates says

Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft and world’s richest man, said in an interview Friday that robots that steal human jobs should pay their fair share of taxes.

“Right now, the human worker who does, say, $50,000 worth of work in a factory, that income is taxed and you get income tax, Social Security tax, all those things,” he said. “If a robot comes in to do the same thing, you’d think that we’d tax the robot at a similar level.”

Gates made the remark during an interview with Quartz. He said robot taxes could help fund projects like caring for the elderly or working with children in school. Quartz reported that European Union lawmakers considered a proposal to tax robots in the past. The law was rejected.

Recode, citing a McKinsey report, said that 50 percent of jobs performed by humans are vulnerable to robots, which could result in the loss of about $2.7 trillion in the U.S. alone.

“Exactly how you’d do it, measure it, you know, it’s interesting for people to start talking about now,” Gates said. “Some of it can come on the profits that are generated by the labor-saving efficiency there. Some of it can come directly in some type of robot tax. I don’t think the robot companies are going to be outraged that there might be a tax. It’s OK.”

...

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/02/...=1487396977124

[timosman]

If you move, you will be taxed. Plants too.

[LibertyRevolution]

If just the transportation and agricultural industries were completely automated, the amount of people out of work would lead to a complete collapse of society.

Once robots take over most of the jobs, there really are only 2 options..
Either people are given everything they need to live, or the population will need to be decreased dramatically.

When humans, with the aid of technology, replaced beasts of burden, how did that work out for them?
You see a lot of horses and oxen doing jobs now? See their populations booming? No...
When the robots (AI) take replace the human worker, the same must happen to humans.

Anyone looking to kill some time should read this novella about robots taking over: http://marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm

[GunnyFreedom]

I've wanted to kick Bill Gates in the head repeatedly since the mid 1980's. This is not helping me to alleviate that desire.

[jmdrake]

That's like asking "should slaves have to pay taxes."

[opal]

no one should have to pay taxes