A new headline finding from YouGov this month has found that 47 per cent of Britons would support a tax on work done by AI – with only 20 per cent opposed to such a tax.
Given the significant investment that many businesses are currently making into AI, it is an issue which requires careful consideration, even if it is just speculation at this point in time.
A new AI landscape
This new poll comes at a time when legislatives are increasingly assessing the impact of AI on the workplace and its subsequent effect on public revenues.
Even the companies behind some of the biggest AI platforms have raised the point, with OpenAI – the company behind ChatGPT – already calling for a tax on automated labour in the United States in April, alongside a public wealth fund modelled on Alaska’s Permanent Fund and automatic safety-net triggers tied to AI-driven displacement metrics.
We are not in uncharted waters when it comes to an AI tax, as South Korea has had a form of robot tax in place since 2017, implemented not as a direct levy but through a reduction in the tax deductions available on automation investment.
The European Parliament rejected a more direct version in the same year, then shifted its energy into regulation rather than taxation, ultimately producing the EU AI Act in 2024.
The questions of whether the UK may implement a similar form of taxation on the use or development of AI is likely to arise at some point in the near future.
Could the UK implement a tax on AI?
Calls for a “minimum wage for robots” from entrepreneurs like Charles Radclyffe, combined with sustained public concern about AI’s impact on the labour market – captured neatly in YouGov’s latest findings – make the political case more likely than at any point in the last decade.
The polling cuts cleanly across the centre-left, too. Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green voters back the idea at 55-58 per cent and even 38 per cent of Conservative voters support it against 27 per cent opposed, according to YouGov.
The political coalition for an AI tax is already there if a party wants to build one.
The dangers of an AI tax
The case against is more nuanced than its supporters often acknowledge, as the introduction of a new form of taxation could limit the UK’s competitiveness in a fast-growing market.
A January 2026 paper produced in the US by Brooking Institution made the point bluntly clear that taxing the underlying capital of AI, such as the robots, the computers and data centres, would be akin to “taxing steel during the industrial revolution.”
It Could discourage exactly the productive investment the UK economy needs to remain competitive against the US, Germany, Korea and China.
What many economists suggest instead is a tax, not on the AI itself, but on the AI-delivered service.
Some have compared this to an indirect form of taxation, like VAT, where the output is taxed and not the input.
Many argue that this captures value where it is created and generates revenue, thereby not disincentivising investment in the technology behind AI.
What UK businesses should look out for
At the moment, the discussion around an AI tax in the UK is just theory, but the YouGov’s results show that there is appetite for the taxation of non-human labour amongst workers.
If such a tax were to be introduced, we would expect to see it surface in Budget submissions, manifestos and party conference speeches across the next twelve to twenty-four months.
The conversation will get louder before it gets clearer. The whole discussion about taxing AI is complex and requires the Government to define what could and couldn’t be taxed.
Any UK tax that does go forward is likely to start narrow and broaden over time
The strongest argument against a poorly designed AI tax, i.e. that it taxes investment in the very technology the UK needs to remain competitive, is a powerful one and is well understood by Treasury officials and serious policy thinkers.
Ultimately, businesses should currently be afraid to invest in AI where it benefits them and drives real improvements in their financial performance.
If you would like guidance on seeking investment for AI and automation, please speak to our team.
