Overview
- More than a dozen states have paused, frozen, or canceled long‑standing sales‑tax exemptions and credits for hyperscale data centers after public and legislative pushback.
- Ohio’s server and equipment exemption swelled to roughly $1.5 billion, prompting Governor Mike DeWine to halt new applications and spurring lawmakers to propose repeals and reopen multi‑decade deals with Amazon, Meta, and Google.
- States are taking different paths: New Jersey canceled remaining credits, Virginia kept equipment breaks but added an electricity levy, and several states have ordered audits or moratoria on new projects.
- At the federal level, the EPA has proposed rules that would shorten public notice and speed permitting for some pollution permits while President Trump is publicly urging states to welcome data centers, heightening a national policy clash.
- The shift is already changing project economics and siting decisions by pushing developers toward friendlier states, raising utility and grid‑upgrade costs for local communities, and increasing the chance of renegotiated deals, delays, or legal fights.