Tax the Robots, Says Tsinghua Economist

On 4 November 2026, Tsinghua professor Nie Huihua argued that companies should be taxed for using AI and robots, noting that automating labour raises profits while avoiding the social-security contributions tied to human employees. He said that leaving automation untaxed is unfair to firms that still hire people, framing the proposal as a matter of competitive fairness rather than revenue, and reigniting debate over how automation should be taxed.