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By Alejandro Lazo 

SAN FRANCISCO -- Two of the technology industry's high-profile chief executives engaged in a public spat Friday over one of this city's most vexing issues: homelessness.

Salesforce.com Inc. CEO Marc Benioff appeared to challenge Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey over his commitment to philanthropy in the city where both companies have their headquarters.

"Exactly [how] much have his companies & [he] personally given back to our city, our homeless programs, public hospitals, & public schools?" Mr. Benioff wrote in reference to Mr. Dorsey on Twitter.

The exchange was over Mr. Benioff's support for a local tax measure on San Francisco's November ballot. The Salesforce chief has come out publicly in support of Proposition C, which would increase an existing gross-receipts tax on the city's businesses. The money would be used for construction of permanent housing, rental subsidies, mental health services, drug and alcohol rehabilitation and other homelessness programs.

The measure is supported by nonprofit groups seeking to help the homeless, the San Francisco Democratic Party and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who represents parts of the city.

San Francisco's newly elected Mayor London Breed, a Democrat, has opposed the measure, citing concerns that it could drive out businesses. On Friday, Mr. Dorsey weighed into the controversy.

"I want to help fix the homeless problem in SF and California," Mr. Dorsey wrote on Twitter. "I don't believe this (Prop C) is the best way to do it... Mayor Breed was elected to fix this. I trust her."

Mr. Benioff replied directly to his fellow CEO on the social platform run by Mr. Dorsey. Mr. Benioff brought up a tax break that Twitter has been a beneficiary of since 2011, which was created by late San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee after Twitter considered leaving the city.

Under the so-called Twitter tax break, the payroll tax reductions were given to companies located in the Tenderloin and Mid-Market areas, which are considered among the poorest in the city. The tax breaks were seen as attractive to startups paying workers with stock options.

Mr. Benioff said in an interview that the tax was "immaterial" to big technology companies such as his own, but homelessness was something that workers experienced daily.

"People want action to support the homeless," he said. "This is an easy way. Unfortunately, a lot of these tech CEOs, they don't give money to the homeless, they don't give money to public schools, they don't give money to public hospitals...They work and live inside their bubbles."

A spokesman for Mr. Dorsey declined to comment.

In a sign that the homelessness measure won't only divide this city's Democrats, but also potentially its business community, Patrick Collison, the chief executive of Stripe, weighed in too. "Am with Jack," he tweeted. "Marc is well-intentioned, but I trust Mayor Breed's expertise on homelessness over his."

Write to Alejandro Lazo at alejandro.lazo@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 12, 2018 20:58 ET (00:58 GMT)

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