Taxing Robots

In recent years, the idea of taxing robots has been progressively gaining momentum. The potential impact of automation on employment, and consequently on income tax revenues, has led many to defend the introduction of a tax on robots, or on the use of robots, to either compensate for the potential revenue loss, or to slow down the process of automation. This paper argues that whilst automation presents significant challenges to tax systems, the introduction of a new tax on robots –or on their use– are not effective mechanisms through which to address these challenges. In order to explain the growing popularity of taxing robots, the paper draws insights from behavioral science. It concludes that the growing support for such a tax is more a reflection of unconscious and institutional biases, than it is of sound taxation principles.