Ms Cora O'Brien:

The issue of labour taxes and the development of robotics are policy areas that definitely need to be looked at. Until now, we have been very focused on corporate profits and corporation tax, but in international literature and commentary we are starting to see discussion of the impact of robotics on payroll taxes. It is affecting the jobs that people are doing and the consequences of that, including the impact on payroll taxes. There is a concern that robotics should not replace people. It might change the type of work that people do. The challenge for policymakers is to try to ensure that people are provided with transferable skills, particularly in view of the development of robotics. The types of work people do might change but the quality of the work should not. This is a huge area that has been under-explored.