Description
Book SynopsisWe are standing on the threshold of the robotic era, the fourth industrial revolution. The undeniable impact and consequences of robotics are already raising economic concerns, such as the loss of income tax revenue as robots gradually replace human workers, as well as legal doubts regarding the possible taxation of robots or their owners. Financial law must adapt to this new reality by answering several crucial questions. Should robots pay taxes? Can they? Do they have the ability to pay? Can they be considered entrepreneurs for VAT purposes? These are just some of the many issues that Dr. Álvaro Falcón Pulido lucidly and insightfully addresses in this fascinating new monographic work, which includes an exhaustive bibliography on the subject.
Table of ContentsForeword Part 1 Robots and their Impact 1 Concept and Types A Legal Concept of a Robot 1 What Is a Robot? a Appearance of the “Robot” Concept b Historical Evolution i Industry Definition of “Robot” ii Published Academic Definition of “Robot” 2 The Need for a Legal Definition of Robot a Absence of a Legal Definition of Robot b Possibility of a Legal-Tax Definition of Robot c Proposed Legal-Tax Definition of Robot B Existing Robot Types 1 Criteria for Possible Robot Classification 2 Robotic Archetypes by Characteristics a Drones b Autonomous Vehicles c Softbots and Artificial Intelligence d Humanoid Robots: Androids and Cyborgs 3 Robotic Archetypes by Use a Industrial Machinery b Healthcare Robots i Prosthetic and Rehabilitation Robots ii Service and Care Robots iii Surgical Robots c Space and Military Robots C Conclusions 2 The Need for Public Intervention to Face the Challenges Posed by Robotics A The Impact of Robotics 1 Repercussions of Robotics for the Labor Market a Percentage of Automation b Speed and Intensity of Automation c The Offshoring and Reshoring Phenomenon 2 Repercussions of Robotics for the Economy a Economic Inequality B On the Need to Regulate Robots 1 The Legal Framework of Robots a Adapting the Legal System to New and Emerging Realities b The Need for Legal Certainty 2 Objectives of Robot Taxation a Non-fiscal Purposes b Revenue Needs i Universal Basic Income ii Helping Companies and Workers Adapt to the New Labor Market C General Principles of the Legal Regulation of Robots 1 Principles of Robot Law 2 Principles Inherent to Tax Law Part 2 Personhood 3 Personhood of Robots A What Is Personhood? 1 Concept of Personhood 2 Historical Evolution a Legal Personality in Rome i Persons ii Foundations and Associations iii Slaves b Legal Personality of Companies c Animals: From Chattels to Sentient Beings d Robotic or Electronic Personhood i Comparison of Persons and Robots ii Traditional Legal Personhood versus a New Brand of Personhood: the Possibility of Using Existing Types of Legal Entities, such as Companies or Foundations iii Robotic Personhood as an Evolution of Legal Personhood: the Possibility of Attributing General Legal Capacity to Robots, thereby Creating a New Type of Legal Person iv Robots’ Capacity to Act and “Capacity of Representation” B Do Robots Really Need Personhood? 1 The Need to Give Robots Personhood 2 Robots as Taxpayers a Robots as Entities with Personhood i Legal Capacity ii Capacity to Act b Robots as de facto Entities i Special Tax Capacity: a Tax Levied on Robots or on Robot Owners? Critique of the Theory of Special Tax Capacity ii Owners, Users, and Manufacturers as Taxpayers iii Financial Capacity and Ability to Pay C Conclusions Part 3 Taxation and Robotics 4 Current Tax Treatment of Robots A Comparison of the Tax Situations of Robots and Workers 1 Current Accounting Situation of Robots 2 Corporate Expenses a Robot Depreciation b Salaries and Social Security Contributions B Subject of Subsidies, Deductions, and Tax Incentives for Research, Development, and Innovation (r&d + i) 1 Types a Direct and Indirect Financing b Direct and Indirect Tax Incentives c Input and Output Incentives 2 Tax Incentives in Spain’s Corporate Income Tax Law (lis) a Reduction of Taxable Income Derived from Certain Intangible Assets b Deduction for Research and Development and Technological Innovation Activities c Free Depreciation under lis Article 12.3 3 Tax Incentives for Research, Development, and Innovation (r&d + i) in Comparative Law a France b Austria c Netherlands d Portugal e United Kingdom f Italy g Chile 4 Coexistence of Tax Incentives and the Robot Tax 5 Tax Incentives for Research, Development, and Innovation in Robotics as a Solution 5 The Question of Taxing Power in Spanish Law A The Division of Taxing Powers Set out in the Spanish Constitution B The Need to Avoid the Proliferation of Regional Taxes in Robotics C Possible Solutions 1 Creating a Federal Tax 2 Amending the Regional Financing Law (lofca) 3 The Alternative of a Ceded Federal Tax 4 The Alternative of an Ordinary Harmonization Law D Conclusions 6 Robot Tax A The New Robot Tax 1 Different Types of Taxes a Direct and Indirect Taxes b Subjective and Objective Taxes c Personal and Real Taxes 2 Structure of the Robot Tax a Subjective Element b Objective Element 3 The Concept of Theoretical Imputed Income B International Perspective 1 Impact on dtt s 2 Robots as Permanent Establishments a Application of the Traditional Concept of Permanent Establishment b The New Concept of Digital Permanent Establishment C Other Ways of Taxing Robots: Taxes and Fees 1 Creating New Taxes 2 Adjusting Existing Taxes a Personal, Corporate, and Non-Resident Income Tax b vat c Others i Special Tax on Certain Modes of Transportation ii Special Electricity Tax iii Public Radio-Electric Spectrum Reservation Rate D Social Security Contributions 1 Concept and Nature of Contributions 2 Adapting the Concept of Contributions to a Potential Social Security Tax on Robots E Other Solutions 1 Tobin Tax or Financial Transaction Tax 2 Google Tax or Digital Services Tax 3 Related Solutions that Affect Robots a cctb and ccctb F Conclusions Conclusions Bibliography Index
