By Kevin Hardy
Stateline.org
(TNS)
Though public scrutiny of data centers is growing, 14 states do not disclose how much revenue they lose to data center tax breaks.
That’s according to a new report from Good Jobs First, a watchdog group that focuses on economic development incentives. The lack of disclosure comes as other states record mounting losses in tax revenue to data center subsidies. Three states—Georgia, Virginia and Texas—report losing $1 billion or more per year to data center incentives, according to Good Jobs First.
The study found that Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah all failed to report data center incentives, which generally include sales, use and property tax breaks.
For years, states have used incentives and tax breaks to compete for data centers, sought for their massive investment in construction and equipment. Currently, 38 states offer dedicated tax incentives for data centers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Good Jobs First said in most cases, states are failing to disclose incentives in violation of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, a private organization that sets financial reporting standards for state and local governments.
“No form of state spending is more out of control today than data center tax abatements,” Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First and primary author of the study, said in a news release. “Hyperscale data centers are not only extractive of electricity, water, and land; they are also undermining public budgets.”
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Data centers, sprawling campuses of computer servers that store and transmit the data behind apps and websites, are facing heightened local opposition as residents complain about rising electricity prices and raise environmental concerns. State lawmakers are also looking to limit or repeal the incentives that paved the way for massive growth in data centers.
Maine lawmakers this week approved a moratorium on data centers larger than 20 megawatts—the first statewide ban of its kind in the country.
That legislation, pending action from the governor, bans new data centers through November 2027 and creates a new state council to provide strategic input, facilitate planning considerations and evaluate policy tools to address data centers, Maine Morning Star reported.
The Good Jobs First report recommends that all states fully report their losses from data center tax breaks, including how those incentives affect local revenue streams.
Photo caption: Amazon has data centers on about 700 acres of land near the small city of Boardman, OR. Property tax breaks worth more than $435 million so far helped bring the company to the rural community. (Dave Killen/The Oregonian/TNS)
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© 2026 Stateline.org. Visit www.stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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