Anthropic, OpenAI Tax-Exempt IPO Move to Stoke Congress’ Ire

The founders of both Anthropic and OpenAI have pledged to donate large portions of company stock to charity after the companies go public. By doing so, they can use the full fair market value of these stock donations to offset any of their income. Moreover, they avoid the taxes that would be owed on their large gains if they first sold the stock and then donated the cash. As our Senior Scholar in Residence, Ellen Aprill, explains in the article, these kinds of donations generate a double benefit. A number of members of Congress have thus voiced concern about such donations of stock, in particular the loss of revenue on the built-in gain. These concerns join a growing debate on Capitol Hill about oversight of tax-exempt entities.