Smith Calls for Immediate Termination of Data Center Tax Break

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) called for the immediate termination of the data center tax exemption after new reporting revealed it is costing the state over 10 times what was projected for 2025.

“The jaw-dropping, recent reporting about how much money the state of Ohio is giving to the richest corporations in the world demands immediate action by the Ohio Legislature,” said Smith. “Senator Blessing and I have been attempting to repeal the data center sales tax break since December 2024. If the Governor and General Assembly had repealed the tax break when we asked them to, we could have saved Ohioans $1.5 billion. Now that we know how much it is costing the state of Ohio, it is undeniable that this is the worst tax break in Ohio's history. It needs to be repealed before the legislature goes on its summer break.”

In November 2024, the Ohio Department of Taxation’s Tax Expenditure Report utilized historical data to estimate that the state would forgo $135.8 million in revenue due to the data center tax exemption. The Department has now revealed that the calculated state impact of the data center sales tax exemption was actually over $1.5 billion for CY 2025 and $554.9 million for CY 2024. 

Senators Smith and Blessing introduced Senate Bill 374 earlier this year to prohibit new data center sales tax exemptions.