States That Gave Data Centers Billions in Tax Breaks Are Now Ripping Up the Deals
Wall Street Journal
Sep-09-2026
Over a decade ago, Ohio lawmakers exempted tech companies from sales taxes on computer servers and other equipment needed for data centers, betting that changes worth millions of dollars would lure much-needed investment to the state.
It worked, turning Ohio into one of the leading destinations for data centers. But then the artificial-intelligence boom supersized the tax exemption, pushing it to more than $1.5 billion last year, more than 10 times the original state estimate. Voter outrage after news outlet Signal Ohio reported the scale of the provision prompted Republican Gov. Mike DeWine to pause new applications for the sales-tax exemption in May.
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https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/states-that-gave-data-centers-billions-in-tax-breaks-are-now-ripping-up-the-deals-4879c4f9?mod=hp_lead_pos2
Sep-09-2026
Over a decade ago, Ohio lawmakers exempted tech companies from sales taxes on computer servers and other equipment needed for data centers, betting that changes worth millions of dollars would lure much-needed investment to the state.
It worked, turning Ohio into one of the leading destinations for data centers. But then the artificial-intelligence boom supersized the tax exemption, pushing it to more than $1.5 billion last year, more than 10 times the original state estimate. Voter outrage after news outlet Signal Ohio reported the scale of the provision prompted Republican Gov. Mike DeWine to pause new applications for the sales-tax exemption in May.
....
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/states-that-gave-data-centers-billions-in-tax-breaks-are-now-ripping-up-the-deals-4879c4f9?mod=hp_lead_pos2
