Overview
- Senator Ron Wyden’s white paper would strip data centers of certain tax advantages such as opportunity zone benefits and a real estate trust incentive while adding a low single‑digit gross‑receipts excise on operator revenues, including narrowly defined facilities that serve U.S. customers even if located in space.
- Wyden’s office says the tax is not meant to stop build‑outs and has not set where any new revenue would go, and the proposal includes rules to limit the tax’s reach to assets placed in service after the recent boom.
- The proposal adds to a set of competing Democratic ideas that range from progressive calls for moratoria and a large equity tax to targeted levies on compute or energy and measures to give localities veto power over projects.
- State and local responses have already slowed some projects because of local opposition, grid and water concerns, and lawmakers in Congress are separately advancing ratepayer‑focused legislation and voluntary federal pledges to increase transparency and guardrails.
- Industry and conservative groups warn restrictions could slow U.S. AI infrastructure and shift investment overseas while polling and analysts point to a recent surge in data‑center spending and strong public opposition to local siting, making this a key policy clash ahead of 2028.