Missouri’s sprint to lure massive data centers has brought in billions in private construction and equipment spending, but taxpayers are quietly footing a sizable part of the tab. State records show the Data Center Sales Tax Exemption program has meant roughly $77 million in forgone sales and use taxes, and a single company, Mastercard, captured about $55.6 million for two Missouri expansions. Those numbers have turned up the heat at neighborhood meetings and pushed lawmakers to consider new guardrails.
Report: $77 million in breaks, Mastercard in the spotlight
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a review of state records found that data center projects have used roughly $77 million in sales tax exemptions statewide. The Post-Dispatch reports that figures from the Missouri Department of Economic Development show Mastercard Technologies alone received about $55.6 million in exemptions tied to two expansion projects.
How the exemption program works
The Missouri Department of Economic Development created the Data Center Sales Tax Exemption program to attract cloud, hosting and related operations by waiving sales and use taxes on qualifying purchases used to build or expand facilities, according to the agency’s program materials. Local reporting and state guidance indicate that projects must meet minimum thresholds to qualify. For new facilities that typically means substantial capital investment and hiring targets, roughly $25 million and about ten new jobs, with somewhat lower bars for expansions.
Neighbors push back at planning meetings
Around the St. Louis region, residents have been showing up at planning and zoning hearings and pressing local officials on what all this means for daily life. Neighbors are raising questions about water use, noise, local tax impacts and whether data centers should be allowed “by right” in certain districts, organizers say. Groups such as Breathe Better STL have been urging people to attend commission meetings, and local coverage has chronicled packed hearing rooms and vocal opposition to some proposed campuses.
Who got the biggest breaks
The Post-Dispatch reporting underscores that Mastercard’s exemptions represent a large share of the disclosed state-level breaks, a detail that caught some local officials off guard after they had banked on new jobs and spinoff investment to help offset the lost sales tax revenue. The coverage also features photos and on-the-ground reporting that place the company’s O’Fallon campus squarely within the statewide tally.
Opaque incentives and a national pattern
Watchdog groups say Missouri fits into a broader national pattern of murky data center subsidy deals. A Good Jobs First analysis finds that many states fail to disclose recipient-level subsidy details, which makes it hard for residents and researchers to weigh the public costs against any economic benefits. Local outlets have also noted that key program details, including some utility rates and the exact calculations behind the exemptions, are often treated as confidential, which complicates independent oversight.
Lawmakers are pushing fixes…