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On the implementability of a "robot tax"

Author

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  • Hideto Koizumi

    (Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry; Hitotsubashi University)

Abstract

A "robot tax" has been recently attracting attention, while implementing such taxes is challenging, however, in part because of the difficulty in clearly separating which technologies substitute for labor from those which complement it. Modeling automating technologies as intermediate goods, this short note considers a simple illustrative model of the optimal tax policy in this environment. Despite the potential for automating technologies to be complementary to workers, I find that the optimal tax regime includes a strictly positive uniform tax on these intermediate goods with a restricted production functional form.

Suggested Citation

  • Hideto Koizumi, 2023. "On the implementability of a "robot tax"," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 43(2), pages 759-768.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-21-00473
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    File URL: http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2023/Volume43/EB-23-V43-I2-P62.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    6. Guesnerie,Roger, 1998. "A Contribution to the Pure Theory of Taxation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521629560, November.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Automation; Intermediate Good Taxation; Robot Tax;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue

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