Business leaders are being urged to start preparing for the significant impact artificial intelligence (AI) will have on tax over the next decade.
Experts from professional services firm KPMG UK have said tax will become ‘unrecognisable’ by 2036 during a special Tax Tech and AI summit held in London.
Key areas likely to change due to AI include:
- Tax will be managed in real-time, instantly reflecting changes in global regulation, economic conditions and business shifts
- Real-time tax will give authorities instant visibility, leading to greater scrutiny than ever before
- Directors will be held less responsible for tax errors, but more accountable for the governance failures that lead to them
- As AI transforms workplaces and the nature of employment, governments will shift their tax focus from labour to capital and assets
- Tax leaders will take on the role of overseeing data integrity and acting as a primary authority on AI governance
Tim Sarson, Head of Tax Policy at KPMG UK, said:
“By 2036, AI will have completely changed how businesses handle tax -information will be accessible in real-time to authorities and the way tax teams work will be very different.
“This should excite and empower tax leaders, who need to start preparing now so they are ready for significant change in the next ten years.”
“Simply put, the continued advent of AI will mean tax in business becoming unrecognisable from what we see today.
“Tax will be real-time, regulators will see everything instantly and the role of tax leaders will switch from simple compliance to long term strategy and oversight.
“A decade might seem like a long time but this change is already happening, on a daily basis, so tax leaders need to actively prepare for the major impact is having right now and leading up to 2036.”
