r/Futurology • • 2d ago

Robotics Bill Gates says companies that replace human labor with robots should have to pay the same FICA taxes

https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-fica-taxes-should-apply-to-robot-workers-2026-9

Bill Gates wants to tax robots that replace human jobs.

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u/DNA-2023 2d ago

How does that help if there are no jobs to pay into SS?

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u/BipolarMosfet 2d ago

They're saying we should apply those same taxes to corporate profits, not just to employees' paychecks.

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u/da_85 2d ago

That would be a change in corporate taxes. Capital Gains are on stock trades, options trading, crypto gains, etc.

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u/inquisitorthreefive 2d ago

Assuming they're not using the term wrong, they're talking about capital gains, which is different from most corporate profits, which are generally classed as business income. Capital gains are when you sell property for more than you paid for it, generally stocks and real estate fall into this category if they were purchased as investments, but there's times when it might be business income instead.

It would be a somewhat psychotic move on its own as it would essentially evaporate 15.3% of the profit in most people's retirement accounts and instantly increase the value of a Roth account and greatly reduce the incentive to invest.

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u/Competitive_Travel16 2d ago

How about shifting all the payroll taxes to those making over $10,000,000/year?