OpenAI recently published a 13-page policy paper titled Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age: Ideas to Keep People First, in which the Sam Altman-led AI company laid out a blueprint for economic reform in the AI era. The main point: as AI systems become more advanced and start performing better than the smartest humans, current tax rules, job systems, and social support systems are not ready for the changes ahead. This AI vision seems to be in sync with American businessman and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla’s views who floated the idea of eliminating income taxes last month.
What OpenAI’s 13-page paper on AI vision says
The policy paper has a segment titled “Modernize the tax base”. It reads:“As AI reshapes work and production, the composition of economic activity may shift—expanding corporate profits and capital gains while potentially reducing reliance on labor income and payroll taxes. This could erode the tax base that funds core programs like Social Security, Medicaid, SNAP, and housing assistance—putting them at risk. Tax policy should adapt to ensure these systems remain durable. Policymakers could rebalance the tax base by increasing reliance on capital-based revenues—such as higher taxes on capital gains at the top, corporate income, or targeted measures on sustained AI-driven returns—and by exploring new approaches such as taxes related to automated labor. These reforms should be paired with wage-linked incentives that encourage firms to retain, retrain, and invest in workers, similar to existing R&D-style credits. Together, these changes would help stabilize funding for essential programs while supporting workforce transitions in an AI-driven economy.”Another section is titled “Public Wealth Fund” demanding “Create a Public Wealth Fund that provides every citizen—including those not invested in financial markets—with a stake in AI-driven economic growth. While tax reforms help ensure governments can continue to fund essential programs, a Public Wealth Fund is designed to ensure that people directly share in the upside of that growth. Policymakers and AI companies should work together to determine how to best seed the Fund, which could invest in diversified, long-term assets that capture growth in both AI companies and the broader set of firms adopting and deploying AI. Returns from the Fund could be distributed directly to citizens, allowing more people to participate directly in the upside of AI-driven growth, regardless of their starting wealth or access to capital”.
What Vinod Khosla said
Speaking at Fortune’s Titans and Disruptors of Industry podcast in March, Vinod Khosla proposed to eliminate the preferential tax rate on capital gains, taxing all income—whether earned from a paycheck or an investment portfolio. He also demanded to exempt everyone earning under $100,000 from federal income taxes entirely, estimating that 40% of all capital gains taxes are paid by people earning more than $10 million annually, making the math work without increasing the overall tax burden.Not only this, but Khosla has also endorsed the idea of a national wealth fund.