Elizabeth Warren Wants To Know From Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg And Jeff Bezos How Much They Spent Lobbying For 'Potential Windfall' — Accuses Tech Giants Of 'Cozying Up' Up To Trump Administration

On Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called out five tech giants, alleging they could gain $75 billion in tax benefits due to their close ties with the Trump administration.

What Happened: In a post on X, Warren pointed out that Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) could benefit significantly from tax cuts proposed by the Trump administration. She urged for transparency in the lobbying efforts of these companies and their potential impact on executive compensation.

Warren is pressing the CEOs of major tech firms on their lobbying efforts to restore an immediate R&D tax deduction, which could be worth $75 billion retroactively. She wants details on their spending, political donations, and plans for the funds, with a response due by March 19, according to Semafor. Warren shared her letters to the likes of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos with the publication.

See Also: Elon Musk’s DOGE Team Has Door Slammed On It At Africa Aid Agency Amid Raging Turf War

Why It Matters: This comes in the wake of Trump’s proposed tax plan, which could reduce federal revenue by $5 trillion to $11.2 trillion over the next decade, according to estimates from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Critics warn that this could lead to severe fiscal consequences, particularly in regard to rising national debt.

The Trump administration’s tax reduction plans have been criticized as a “shameless giveaway” that could increase the deficit by $4.6 trillion. The potential tax cuts for wealthy individuals and lower corporate tax rates are likely to widen the U.S. trade deficit. The top 100 firms in the U.S. could see a tax relief of $48 billion, as per former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Shivdeep Dhaliwal