South Korea’s IT sector split on a ‘robot tax’ to save jobs
While some say a tax is necessary, others say it requires thorough review and should be put on hold
By Lee Min-hyung
With Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates proposing a “robot tax,” disputes are intensifying over whether the new taxation scheme will come at the cost of human labour.
The U.S. business tycoon called for the tax last month, underlining the raised funds from robots can be reinvested to train manpower for irreplaceable jobs such as in the medical and education sectors.
The idea, however, is raising concerns at the same time, as the robot tax may slow down companies’ investment appetite and hold back innovation.
South Korea’s IT industry also remains poles apart over the controversial proposal.
“We need to collect taxes from robots, as they are manufacturing products and making money just like human beings do,” an engineer at LG Group said. “Automation is an unavoidable trend in any given industry. One day, robots will replace most of our jobs like drones killing delivery jobs.”
Companies especially in manufacturing industries will not welcome the idea, but the ongoing robot-driven automation is speeding up its penetration into our lives and replaces jobs as well as detailed roles of labour force, according to him.