COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — An Ohio bill would permanently stop all data center tax exemptions in Ohio.
Gov. Mike DeWine implemented an temporary pause for Ohio’s data center sales tax exemption, which took effect early last week. House Bill 975 — introduced the same day DeWine announced the upcoming pause — would end the sales tax exemption entirely, effective Oct. 1. See previous coverage of Ohio’s data center concerns in the video player above.
Ohio introduced sales tax incentives for data centers in 2011 but finalized the sales tax requirements in 2016. Under the exemption, eligible data center projects can receive partial or total sales tax exemptions on construction and infrastructure costs. To qualify, a company must invest at least $100 million over three years and have an Ohio payroll of more than $1.5 million annually.
Ohio lawmakers continue work on data center legislation
State Rep. Tristan Rader (D-Lakewood) introduced the bill, saying DeWine’s pause was a “step in the right direction, but it is not nearly enough.” Under DeWine’s order, no new data center projects will be granted a tax break until the state’s Joint Data Center Committee finishes its work reviewing data centers’ impact on Ohio…