OpenAI’s ChatGPT has taken the world by storm. From acing top university MBA exam to solving complex arithmetic problems, the artificial intelligence-powered chatbot has become a major talking point on the internet and social media. For the unversed, Chat GPT is a pre-trained AI chatbot, which uses Natural Language Processing. The source of its data is textbooks, websites, and various articles, which it uses to model its own language for responding to human interaction. Ahead of Union Budget 2023, we asked ChatGPT to don the hat of India’s finance minister and tell us whether it would cut taxes to reduce the burden on the salaried class.
Would ChatGPT cut taxes in the Budget as Finance Minister?
In response to the question, “If you were the Finance Minister, would you cut income tax rates in the Budget?,” ChatGPT said that since it is a language model, it does not have personal preferences or opinions, so it can not be a finance minister. “However, whether or not to cut income tax rates is a complex decision that would depend on a variety of factors,” it said, adding that cutting income tax rates could help to stimulate economic growth by putting more money in the hands of consumers and businesses, which could lead to increased spending and investment.
Additionally, lower tax rates could also serve as an incentive to attract and retain top talent, or to encourage entrepreneurship, according to ChatGPT. It further went on to say that on the other hand, cutting income tax rates could also lead to a reduction in government revenue, which could negatively impact public services and programs. Additionally, cutting income tax rates could also exacerbate income inequality, as those with higher incomes would benefit more than those with lower incomes.
“If I were a Finance Minister, I would analyze the current economic conditions, the government’s revenue and expenditure projections, and the overall fiscal position of the country before making a decision on whether or not to cut income tax rates. It would also be important to consider the impact of such a decision on different groups of people, and to consider other policy options that could be used to stimulate economic growth and improve the standard of living for citizens,” ChatGPT said.
Provide tax credits for certain expenses such as education, housing
When asked about how it would reduce the tax burden on the salaried class, ChatGPT said, “If I were to hypothetically suggest ways to lower the income tax burden on the salaried class, some options that could be considered include:
- Increasing the standard deduction and personal exemptions to reduce the amount of taxable income for salaried individuals
- Introducing tax slabs with lower tax rates for lower and middle-income earners
- Providing tax credits for certain expenses such as education or housing
- Increasing the exemptions and deductions available for retirement savings
- Simplifying the tax code to reduce compliance costs and make it easier for salaried individuals to file their taxes.”
‘Here’s how I would change tax slab structure’: ChatGPT
Additionally, it’s important to consider the impact of these tax policies on different groups of people, such as low and middle-income earners, and also to consider the overall economic conditions when making these decisions, it added. “As a finance minister, I would look to make changes to the tax slab structure, such as increasing the tax rate for higher income levels or introducing new tax slabs for different types of income. Additionally, I would consider providing targeted tax incentives to promote specific activities such as investment in infrastructure, manufacturing, and research & development,” ChatGPT replied.