NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / — On Tuesday, former presidential hopeful Andrew Yang called on federal lawmakers to replace traditional employment taxes with levies specifically targeting artificial intelligence. During his appearance on CNBC’s Power Lunch, Yang explained that current tax policies incentivize companies to substitute human workers with automation. He cautioned that existing laws effectively subsidize job automation by imposing high payroll taxes on employers while providing tax benefits to firms implementing algorithmic solutions.
In the interview, Yang noted that under current tax regulations, businesses pay substantial payroll taxes and employee healthcare costs when hiring human workers. Meanwhile, companies utilizing artificial intelligence face no comparable labor taxes, which lowers the operational costs of automated labor. Noble Mobile’s CEO stressed that the current legal environment implicitly encourages corporate leaders to accelerate the replacement of human jobs with automation across key economic sectors.
Yang Declares We Are Subsidizing Automation That Will Displace Millions
He proposed a policy shift that would shift the fiscal burden from traditional payroll taxes to automated compute tokens and AI-driven revenue models. Referring to recent remarks by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who suggested a 3 percent revenue tax on generative AI applications, Yang argued that taxing interactions with automated software offers a practical way to balance market dynamics. He emphasized that revenue from an artificial intelligence tax should be redistributed directly to citizens as universal cash dividends instead of funding retraining programs.
This debate unfolds amid rising economic concerns about automation’s impact on jobs across the U.S. A recent joint survey by CNBC and Generation Lab revealed that 45 percent of young Americans aged 18 to 34 anticipate negative effects on their long-term career prospects due to AI. Additionally, macroeconomic projections from Bridgewater Associates estimate that automation could threaten roughly 18 percent of domestic employment within the next five years.
Automated Industry Shifts Displace Customer Service Workers
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows approximately 2.9 million customer service employees, representing one of the first sectors experiencing rapid automation. Yang warned that government-led workforce retraining efforts have historically failed to transition displaced industrial and administrative workers into stable new careers. He pointed to past retraining programs for coal miners and warehouse workers as proof that direct financial aid provides more reliable support than federal job initiatives.
Yang concluded that tax reforms are necessary for lawmakers to keep human workers competitive as software agents advance swiftly. Since current tax structures subsidize a technology poised to eliminate millions of jobs, he stressed the importance of establishing neutral tax policies to navigate the ongoing digital overhaul of the labor market. Legislative proposals are currently under review as policymakers prepare for upcoming congressional sessions to address automation-driven workplace upheaval.