Congress must eliminate the research and experimentation tax credit, commonly known as the R&D (research and development) tax credit. Meta’s aggressive use of this provision shows how a tax break promoted as an incentive for innovation can become a massive corporate windfall.

Meta is treating its AI data centers as experimental pilot models to claim credits for costly computer chips. Its total research tax credits climbed from $700 million in 2023 to $3.9 billion in 2025, following the introduction of its data-center strategy in 2024.

The reporting raises serious questions about whether Meta’s claims meet the law’s requirements. The company’s financial disclosures flag uncertainty surrounding their use of these research credits. But since Republicans have gutted the IRS, its capacity to audit billionaires and their corporations has been greatly reduced.

Congress has a responsibility to change the law. Eliminating this credit would help ensure corporations contribute their fair share to the infrastructure, education, and other investments that make their success possible.

Senator Ron Wyden has proposed withdrawing unnecessary investment incentives from data centers. Congress should build on that scrutiny of corporate subsidies by repealing the R&D credit and directing revenue toward public services and workers facing economic disruption.

Sign and send a message demanding that Congress eliminate the research and experimentation tax credit, investigate potential corporate abuses, and protect the IRS resources needed to recover any money owed.