On April 6, 2026, OpenAI unveiled a 13-page industry report entitled Industrial Policy in the Age of Intelligence, putting forth the groundbreaking proposal of imposing taxes on AI systems that substitute human labor. This idea has ignited widespread debate. The report highlights that the extensive adoption of AI has resulted in the erosion of the tax base and the depletion of tax sources, exerting substantial impacts on the two primary tax bases: labor and consumption. To tackle this challenge, OpenAI recommends restructuring the tax base and heightening reliance on capital income. This includes increasing capital gains taxes for high-income individuals and corporate income taxes, as well as delving into new tax categories like AI taxes and robot taxes. Furthermore, the report puts forward policy suggestions, such as establishing a public wealth fund and instituting a mandatory reporting mechanism for AI-related incidents. The aim is to guarantee that the advantages of AI technology are broadly distributed while effectively managing potential risks.
