Tax and Robotics

Álvaro Falcón Pulido has a bachelor’s degree in Law from the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas (ICADE) (with honors, 2013) and a diploma in Business Studies (2013) as well as a master’s in Taxation and International Tax Law (prize for top-performing student in the class of 2014) from that University. He became a Doctor of Laws at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (summa cum laude, 2022) with a dissertation titled “Fiscalidad y robótica,” which was published by Tirant lo Blanch and is the basis of this book. He has been a practicing lawyer since 2013 and has written mainly on the topic of taxation and robotics.

• ForewordPart 1Robots and their Impact1 Concept and TypesA Legal Concept of a Robot1 What Is a Robot?a Appearance of the “Robot” Conceptb Historical Evolutioni Industry Definition of “Robot”ii Published Academic Definition of “Robot”2 The Need for a Legal Definition of Robota Absence of a Legal Definition of Robotb Possibility of a Legal-Tax Definition of Robotc Proposed Legal-Tax Definition of RobotB Existing Robot Types1 Criteria for Possible Robot Classification2 Robotic Archetypes by Characteristicsa Dronesb Autonomous Vehiclesc Softbots and Artificial Intelligenced Humanoid Robots: Androids and Cyborgs3 Robotic Archetypes by Usea Industrial Machineryb Healthcare Robotsi Prosthetic and Rehabilitation Robotsii Service and Care Robotsiii Surgical Robotsc Space and Military RobotsC Conclusions2 The Need for Public Intervention to Face the Challenges Posed by RoboticsA The Impact of Robotics1 Repercussions of Robotics for the Labor Marketa Percentage of Automationb Speed and Intensity of Automationc The Offshoring and Reshoring Phenomenon2 Repercussions of Robotics for the Economya Economic InequalityB On the Need to Regulate Robots1 The Legal Framework of Robotsa Adapting the Legal System to New and Emerging Realitiesb The Need for Legal Certainty2 Objectives of Robot Taxationa Non-fiscal Purposesb Revenue Needsi Universal Basic Incomeii Helping Companies and Workers Adapt to the New Labor MarketC General Principles of the Legal Regulation of Robots1 Principles of Robot Law2 Principles Inherent to Tax LawPart 2Personhood3 Personhood of RobotsA What Is Personhood?1 Concept of Personhood2 Historical Evolutiona Legal Personality in Romei Personsii Foundations and Associationsiii Slavesb Legal Personality of Companiesc Animals: From Chattels to Sentient Beingsd Robotic or Electronic Personhoodi Comparison of Persons and Robotsii Traditional Legal Personhood versus a New Brand of Personhood: the Possibility of Using Existing Types of Legal Entities, such as Companies or Foundationsiii Robotic Personhood as an Evolution of Legal Personhood: the Possibility of Attributing General Legal Capacity to Robots, thereby Creating a New Type of Legal Personiv Robots’ Capacity to Act and “Capacity of Representation”B Do Robots Really Need Personhood?1 The Need to Give Robots Personhood2 Robots as Taxpayersa Robots as Entities with Personhoodi Legal Capacityii Capacity to Actb Robots as de facto Entitiesi Special Tax Capacity: a Tax Levied on Robots or on Robot Owners? Critique of the Theory of Special Tax Capacityii Owners, Users, and Manufacturers as Taxpayersiii Financial Capacity and Ability to PayC ConclusionsPart 3Taxation and Robotics4 Current Tax Treatment of RobotsA Comparison of the Tax Situations of Robots and Workers1 Current Accounting Situation of Robots2 Corporate Expensesa Robot Depreciationb Salaries and Social Security ContributionsB Subject of Subsidies, Deductions, and Tax Incentives for Research, Development, and Innovation (r&d + i)1 Typesa Direct and Indirect Financingb Direct and Indirect Tax Incentivesc Input and Output Incentives2 Tax Incentives in Spain’s Corporate Income Tax Law (lis)a  Reduction of Taxable Income Derived from Certain Intangible Assetsb Deduction for Research and Development and Technological Innovation Activitiesc Free Depreciation under lis Article 12.33 Tax Incentives for Research, Development, and Innovation (r&d + i) in Comparative Lawa Franceb Austriac Netherlandsd Portugale United Kingdomf Italyg Chile4 Coexistence of Tax Incentives and the Robot Tax5 Tax Incentives for Research, Development, and Innovation in Robotics as a Solution5 The Question of Taxing Power in Spanish LawA The Division of Taxing Powers Set out in the Spanish ConstitutionB The Need to Avoid the Proliferation of Regional Taxes in RoboticsC Possible Solutions1 Creating a Federal Tax2 Amending the Regional Financing Law (lofca)3 The Alternative of a Ceded Federal Tax4 The Alternative of an Ordinary Harmonization LawD Conclusions6 Robot TaxA The New Robot Tax1 Different Types of Taxesa Direct and Indirect Taxesb Subjective and Objective Taxesc Personal and Real Taxes2 Structure of the Robot Taxa Subjective Elementb Objective Element3 The Concept of Theoretical Imputed IncomeB International Perspective1 Impact on dtt s2 Robots as Permanent Establishmentsa Application of the Traditional Concept of Permanent Establishmentb The New Concept of Digital Permanent EstablishmentC Other Ways of Taxing Robots: Taxes and Fees1 Creating New Taxes2 Adjusting Existing Taxesa Personal, Corporate, and Non-Resident Income Taxb vatc Othersi Special Tax on Certain Modes of Transportationii Special Electricity Taxiii Public Radio-Electric Spectrum Reservation RateD Social Security Contributions1 Concept and Nature of Contributions2 Adapting the Concept of Contributions to a Potential Social Security Tax on RobotsE Other Solutions1 Tobin Tax or Financial Transaction Tax2 Google Tax or Digital Services Tax3 Related Solutions that Affect Robotsa cctb and ccctbF ConclusionsConclusionsBibliographyIndex