Perhaps these three aforesaid nomenclatures are the most important and pertinent issues in the contemporary world in broader perspective of world economy, the heart of the human civilization juxtaposition with science and technology and laws, the twin lunges of civilization having all around impact upon the economy. Admit or not the bare and harsh fact that human civilization fast delving upon a most critical phase of it’s existence on financial perspective in particular in view of deluge of highest of technological break through which are AI and automation. Admittedly modern civilization is being roving around the science and technology in every aspect since the dawn of First industrial revolution 300 years ago and thereafter scientific and logical thoughts started to be mirrored in all other crucial fields of human knowledge whether in Arts, literature, commerce or in laws including even in all artistic expositions. In this way modern civilization had undergone three pivotal industrial revolutions from steam power to the digital or computer revolution. Now we have entered the fourth industrial revolution of artificial intelligence and corresponding automation. Although artificial intelligence is in just nascent stage and is undergoing intensive researches in quest for cloning or mimicking the human intelligence, the time for it’s test of veracity is still not clear but the fast pace of automation in all crucial segment of human life ranging from place of work to the personal and daily life has already started to render the heavy feelings of the tremor. Automation is nothing new concept. Rather it was very part of the first day journey of first industrial revolution to the third with mammoth positive effects on all round growth and development of modern civilization from massive employment generation to facilitate us to touch the sublime limit of knowledge. As a result there had been corresponding unthinkable positive effects upon the world economy whether of a state or individual universally. But unlike of previous three industrial revolutions this fourth revolution is poised to have a critical and adverse impact on job generation, the heart of the heart of world economy particularly for a most populous nations like India, China etc. Although tech world leaders are assuring us about strong possibility of huge job generation by AI but one harsh reality is hogging most unpalatable limelight of reality and that is fast vanishing of regular jobs from the landscape of both manufacturing, agriculture and service sector as well with no immediate way out even in distant future to find an alternative particularly for the nations brimming by low or no skilled citizens like India, Bangladesh and all the Third world. The tremor of automation is so strong that it has started hard hitting labor intensive and main job generation sectors like IT, manufacturing at initial now and will hit the financial and construction sectors very soon which will definitely rendering India an abyss of unemployment and poverty. Although at this juncture such massive lay offs are not solely tinkered with sheer automation but to great extent the falling value of cheap monies worldwide thus consequent looming threat of recession which is accelerating the fast deployment of automated devices by the industries for survival in such adverse landscape of world economy. However in Indian context it is hard hitting both the middle and lower middle class, the core engine of our fairy tale economic growth hence. Adding to the woes the commensurate fast shrinking govt. spending capacity and drying liquidity in banks, NBFC, the last nail of coffin of Indian economy. The well established fact is that we are sitting upon the time bomb of unemployment and lay offs as warned by the World bank 10 years ago and govt. is nothing to blame since it is the natural consequence of fast development of automation technology and usual rush for the companies including the govt. itself to cling it for financial survival and natural shrinkage of inflated bubble economy by pumping cheap monies.
Now in this backdrop of stark reality again the Income tax law comes in to a central role of rescuer to mitigate this unprecedented and infinite financial hardship both for people and govt. as Income tax is economy, the perpetual truth. Now question is how? Since 2019 a worldwide discussion and exploration started by various economic thinkers and think tanks to cope with this biggest financial challenge in the modern history and their unanimous prescription is to impose robot or automation tax upon the companies in very strict manner for keeping the govt. financial health sustainable and to channelize this tax in to the account of the person being replaced by the machines. Although our national govt. is in denial mood about said brewing peril of automation but this ostrich like attitude will hardly survive for one or two more years and bugle of most unequal fight between men and machines is the writing on the wall. So unlike of our govt. most developed nations including the USA has already charted the most pragmatic course to combat the deluge of automation by imposing robotics tax in very near future without any iota of doubt and as a natural corollary introduction of identical taxation in India is just on threshold of North block. Now there will be commensurate drastic changes on subsequent mandatory and procedural sections like assessment, reassessment, heads of income, investment valuation and taxation , penalties, TDS etc which will pose big challenges to the practitioners, judges and, officers, legislatures since without thorough understanding of new technological intricacies by all the stakeholders, the very efficacy and competence of said legislations will be self defeated for the nations gigantic battle with economic al woes and being bereft of the main 70% future source of national revenue which income tax will assume in very near future, India’s fairy tale economic growth will definitely will go heywares.
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