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German Digital Minister Wants to Tax Revenue Generated by AI
Karsten Wildberger told Tagesspiegel he supports taxing revenue earned through artificial intelligence. The money would fund the transformation of the labor market, but the minister did not say what such a tax would look like.
German digital minister Karsten Wildberger has come out in favor of taxing revenue generated through artificial intelligence. He would like the proceeds to pay for changes in the labor market. For now it is a political statement, not a draft law.
What the minister said
Wildberger spoke to Tagesspiegel, and the Polish Press Agency relayed the information. The minister backed the idea of taxing revenue that arises thanks to AI. The money raised would go toward financing the transformation of the labor market.
We must tax the extremely high revenues generated by this technology, and we can use the funds to finance the transformation (of the labor market) - Karsten Wildberger, Germany's digital minister
He justified his position by saying that if economic growth and added value are created in Germany, taxes should also be paid in the country.
No details yet
The minister did not specify what such a tax would look like. PAP's reports mention no rates, no definition of AI revenue, no group of taxpayers and no date of entry into force. It is also unclear whether the proposal has the backing of the whole government, as the sources do not say.
The statement should therefore be read as a signal of the direction of the debate, not an announcement of a specific law. None of the sources gives estimates of the revenue for the budget.
Forecasts for the labor market
According to Wildberger, the development of AI will fundamentally change the labor market. In the longer term, he believes, employment will grow, but the new jobs will appear in different occupations than today, for example in crafts and care services.
For this reason, the minister stressed, retraining workers will have to be funded. In his view, revenue from the tax would finance the labor market transformation, of which retraining will be a part.
What it means for Poland
For now the proposal does not concern Polish companies or Polish law. The sources describe only the German minister's statement. The details, if they emerge, will decide whether the tax hits model providers, companies deploying AI, or both groups.
