What hasn't been mentioned is the loss of income tax and national insurance as a result of replacing workers with machines.

Automation is legitimate tax evasion!

Also, if salaries for new jobs are, on average, less than those for the old jobs eliminated due to technology then there's an additional loss of tax revenue. Especially if jobs become casualised and cash in hand.

There have been many articles written about a robot tax, but nobody knows how to implement it in practice. Take into account that automation isn't just a machine which moves things in a factory. It can even be a mobile phone app. It's now possible to cash a cheque by taking a photo of it. Next year more local bank branches will close down in Britain.

One solution could be changing the tax system away from taxing labour towards taxing corporate profits, but economists are not enthusiastic about this idea because companies can relocate their head offices to lower tax regimes.

I'm not sure if the IET has given any consideration to this economic phenomenon.

What hasn't been mentioned is the loss of income tax and national insurance as a result of replacing workers with machines.

Automation is legitimate tax evasion!

Also, if salaries for new jobs are, on average, less than those for the old jobs eliminated due to technology then there's an additional loss of tax revenue. Especially if jobs become casualised and cash in hand.

There have been many articles written about a robot tax, but nobody knows how to implement it in practice. Take into account that automation isn't just a machine which moves things in a factory. It can even be a mobile phone app. It's now possible to cash a cheque by taking a photo of it. Next year more local bank branches will close down in Britain.

One solution could be changing the tax system away from taxing labour towards taxing corporate profits, but economists are not enthusiastic about this idea because companies can relocate their head offices to lower tax regimes.

I'm not sure if the IET has given any consideration to this economic phenomenon.