Jeremy Corbyn's accountant talks about taxing the robotics industry
Richard Murphy, the accountant advising the newly elected Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has given an interview to the Robotics Law Journal about the difficulties of taxing the booming robotics industry. In his interview, Murphy explains that there is a need to develop a new approach to the taxation of robotics companies. If robots start taking the work of human beings it&nbsp;will call into question the taxation of businesses, and whether it would result in the state&nbsp;having to redirect tax back to help human society. 
The accountant advising Jeremy Corbyn, the newly elected Labour leader in the UK, has given an interview to the Robotics Law Journal about the difficulties of taxing the booming robotics industry.

Richard Murphy is being given much of the credit for what is being seen as one of the most appealing parts of Jeremy Corbyn's manifesto. The accountant is an active member of the Tax Justice Network and is credited with coming up with the idea of country-by-country tax reporting, an approach that is being taken up globally and is supported by the current government as well as by left-wingers such as the new Labour leader.

Tax on robots

Mr Murphy told the Robotics Law Journal that the need to develop a new approach to the taxation of robotics companies is a highly complex issue, saying: 'We don’t know the answer'. A complicating factor, he added, is that the high-tech sector is creating monopolies in some areas - 'there is only one such search engine [Google], there is only one Facebook'. If robots take the work of human beings, this could put businesses in a different position regarding the usual arguments on tax. It could also enable the state to argue that some of their output should be taxed and routed back to help human society.

Robotics

The short interview with Mr Murphy is included in the second issue of the Robotics Law Journal, which has just been published. If you would like free access to a copy of the first issue, please email the editor at: neasamacerlean@globalcitymedia.com

Source: Robotics Law Journal