American venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and the co-founder of Sun Microsystems has now proposed a radical rethink of US taxation in light of the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs. In a post shared on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) Khosla argued that as AI eliminated millions of roles, the labour portion of the economy will shrink sharply, requiring the governments to shift the tax burden from wages to capital. “AI will transform economies and need a rethink of capitalism & equity. Labor portion of economy (vs capital) will decline sharply. Should we eliminate preferential treatment of capital gains tax and equalize to ordinary income? 40% of capital gains taxes are paid by those with income >$10m/year! This video is just the professions being automated in our current portfolio!,” wrote Kholsa.
Impact of AI on jobs
Khosla also shared a video along with his post highlighting the professions at risk from AI. Khosla believes that the jobs at risk include accountants, therapists, truck drivers and chip designers. Earlier also, Khosla predicted that within 25 years, AI could perform 80% of the work in 80% of the jobs, making universal basic income (UBI) a likely necessity.Khosla’s comments add to a growing chorus of tech leaders warning of AI’s disruptive potential. Elon Musk has suggested that work could become “optional” and money “irrelevant” in a future of abundant AI‑driven resources. By contrast, skeptics like Michael Burry have cautioned that the AI boom may be a speculative bubble, with companies overinvesting in chips and data centers that could quickly become obsolete.