An expository review of robot tax in the era of the fourth industrial revolution

Abstract

Background: The looming Fourth Industrial revolution unveils advanced technology, such as robots which will reshape the workforce completely, resulting in a depletion of tax revenue, since they are currently not being taxed. Various scholars and tax-industry experts have proposed taxing the robots, in order to curb this phenomenon. Main purpose of study: The primary objective of this study is to determine whether the notion of imposing tax on robots is feasible. In order to address this research objective, it was imperative to determine what has previously been published on robot tax, as well as the current understanding thereof. Method: Academic articles, including industry reports and working papers on scholarly databases such as Google Scholar, EbscoHost and ProQuest were utilised in performing a systematic review on robot tax. A total of seventy publications were found on the scholarly databases, after which the search criteria were applied, in order to screen the publications. Of the seventy publications, only thirty-three publications were selected for the systematic review. Results: After analysing the publications, it was evident that robot tax is a complex issue with the majority of the authors proposing that some form of direct tax should be levied on the robots. Conclusions: It is evident that more research and debate are needed, in order to fully comprehend the extent and complexity of this topic. Subsequently, experts should then be able to suggest plausible solutions to curb revenue loss, without discouraging innovation and automation.