As robots increasingly replace human labor, the government should impose a robot tax to temporarily slow down the progress of automation and to use the tax to retrain human labor.

According to Taiwan's "United Daily News" report on February 20, Microsoft founder Bill Gates said that as robots increasingly replace human labor, the government should impose a robot tax. First, it will temporarily slow down the progress of automation. Second, it will be used as a tax. To retrain manpower.

Gates said in an interview with the online magazine Quartz that the government should impose taxes related to automation. He said that a worker with an annual salary of $50,000 has to pay income tax, social security tax, etc. If a robot replaces the worker, the robot should pay tax accordingly.

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Gates also said that automation brings increased productivity, which can generate more taxes. Taxation on automation can be based on the profits generated by robots replacing human efficiency, or it can be taxed directly on robots. The specific method of collection can be discussed.

At present, automation is expanding rapidly. In addition, the corporate world and manufacturing industry are pursuing energy and labor saving, and manpower is gradually becoming useless. It is expected that the jobs that will be replaced by robots in the next 20 years include warehouse work, driving, cleaners, etc. Gates pointed out that robot tax can do many good things and services, such as care for the elderly and the disabled, schools using small class systems, and education for special children. These tasks require the empathy, understanding, and comprehension of those engaged in it. It's certainly better to do it with a real person than with a robot. Introducing manpower replaced by robots into these jobs is something that the business community cannot or cannot do. This should be the role of the government.