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Topic for April 2026 - Beyond Income Tax
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The Topic for April is: Beyond Income Tax: Funding Government in the AI Economy
The challenge is not that economic value declines in an AI era, but that it is no longer captured through the mechanisms on which government revenue depends.
Agenda
- What are our concerns about supporting the economy and society in an AI era where traditional work is disrupted or reduced?
- Can the current tax model—largely based on taxing labour—survive in an AI era? If not, what trajectory are we on if we do nothing?
- Is the real issue the loss of jobs, or the loss of tax revenue? Or is value still being created, but increasingly accumulating as wealth in ways we struggle to tax?
- Does AI need to “pay” for its consequences, or is that the wrong framing? What, in principle, should be taxed in an AI economy?
- What options do we have to generate public revenue without relying on traditional employment?
(e.g. taxing capital, productivity, AI systems, data, consumption, or alternative mechanisms) - Are our Productivity Contribution proposals a pragmatic and sufficient response? Where are they strong, and where might they fall short? What arguments against them do we need to address?
- What credible alternative models or complements should we consider?
- Who ultimately bears the cost under each model?
- Conclusion – what are the key attributes of a credible approach?
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The output on this topic 'From Income Tax to Productivity Contribution: Funding the AI Society'
is now available at Productivity Contribution - Funding the AI Society.
This post was edited by # Probably42 at April 22, 2026 12:00 PM BST