NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / — During a CNBC interview on Tuesday, Andrew Yang, co-founder of the Forward Party, advocated for a fundamental overhaul of the current tax system. He suggested replacing human payroll taxes with direct levies on artificial intelligence. Yang warned that existing federal tax incentives are encouraging automation at the expense of millions of jobs, calling on policymakers to distribute the fiscal load more equitably between human workers and algorithmic systems.
In the course of the interview, Yang highlighted that current tax laws impose substantial payroll taxes and healthcare costs on companies that employ humans. In contrast, firms integrating artificial intelligence face no comparable labor taxes, which effectively reduces operational expenses for automated solutions. Noble Mobile’s CEO emphasized that the current legal framework implicitly promotes rapid automation and replacement of human labor across major economic sectors.
Andrew Yang Claims We Are Supporting a Technology That Will Displace Millions
Yang recommended a policy shift that would redirect fiscal responsibilities away from traditional payroll taxes towards revenue-based models such as automated compute tokens and AI-generated income. Referencing recent remarks by Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, who proposed a 3 percent revenue tax on generative AI services, Yang argued that taxing automated interactions is a practical approach to market regulation. He emphasized that revenue from such an AI tax should be directly distributed to citizens as universal cash dividends, instead of funding retraining programs.
This debate unfolds amid growing economic concern about the effects of automation on jobs nationwide. A recent joint survey by CNBC and Generation Lab found that 45 percent of young Americans aged 18 to 34 believe AI will harm their career prospects in the long term. Additionally, macroeconomic forecasts by Bridgewater Associates executives estimate that about 18 percent of U.S. jobs could be affected by automation within the next five years.
Displaced Customer Service Workers Face Rapid Industry Changes
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that customer service roles, employing roughly 2.9 million workers nationwide, are among the first sectors experiencing swift automation. Yang warned that government-led retraining initiatives have historically failed to help displaced workers transition into sustainable new careers. He pointed to past efforts targeting coal miners and warehouse staff as evidence that direct financial assistance provides more stability than federal job programs.
Yang concluded by urging legislators to reform tax policies to ensure human workers stay competitive alongside rapidly advancing AI systems. Since current tax structures subsidize a technology capable of replacing millions of jobs, he emphasized that establishing neutral, fair tax policies is critical to managing the ongoing digital transformation of the U.S. labor market. Ongoing review of legislative proposals continues as policymakers prepare for upcoming congressional sessions addressing automation’s impact on employment.