Meta reportedly claimed billions in tax credits by treating A.I. data centers as experiments

The New York Times reports that Meta sought billions of dollars in research-and-experimentation tax credits tied to its A.I. data center expansion. The paper says Meta told the Internal Revenue Service that the facilities were a large experiment that could fail, and classified the multibillion-dollar centers as “pilot models” for tax purposes. The Times also reports that Meta’s own accountants recognized the strategy was on shaky legal ground, with securities filings warning that billions in tax savings could be overturned by the IRS because of uncertainties around the company’s research tax credits.