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Will the AI Apocalypse Come for the Tax Code?

By: Daniel Bunn, Alex Muresianu

The singularity is here, or at least it feels like it. How AI will reshape the economy is still unknown, but many commentators have already concluded that the taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. system will require serious changes. Billionaires John Arnold and Mark Cuban have weighed in recently with ideas ranging from taxing labor at a lower rate than capital and taxes on AI-specific features like tokens and compute. The Economist’s recent coverage of the issue proposed a new fund to offset the costs of the economic transition for those impacted by AI tools.

Underlying these recommendations is a sense that AI will fundamentally alter the economy. Workers could be displaced. Resources could be strained. And some use these risks to argue that tax policy also needs to change.

We are skeptical.

This is a preview of our full op-ed originally published in Fortune.

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About the Authors

Daniel Bunn Tax Foundation President & CEO
Expert

Daniel Bunn

President and CEO

Daniel Bunn is President and CEO of the Tax Foundation. Daniel has been with the organization since 2018 and, prior to becoming President, successfully built its Center for Global Tax Policy, expanding the Tax Foundation’s reach and impact around the world. Prior to joining the Tax Foundation, Daniel worked in the United States Senate at the Joint Economic Committee.

Alex Muresianu Tax Foundation
Expert

Alex Muresianu

Senior Policy Analyst

Alex Muresianu is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Tax Foundation, focused on federal tax policy. Previously working on the federal team as an intern in the summer of 2018 and as a research assistant in summer 2020. He attended Tufts University, graduating with a degree in economics and minors in finance and political science.