Smith Responds to DeWine's Pause on Data Center Tax Exemption

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) responded to the governor’s decision to direct the chair of the Ohio Tax Credit Authority to pause the consideration of any new data center tax exemption requests.

“Governor DeWine's decision to pause the data center tax break is an admission that, under his watch, this tax cut for billion-dollar companies got out of control. Every member of the Ohio Tax Credit Authority is a Republican appointee or member of DeWine's cabinet. This means that when Governor DeWine vetoed the legislature's attempt to end the data center tax break, he knew that it had cost the state $554 million in 2024. But DeWine let it continue unconstrained, costing Ohioans an additional $1.5 billion in 2025,” said Smith.

“The reality is either the Ohio Tax Credit Authority failed the governor by not informing their boss that the 2024 tax break had far exceeded their estimate, or the governor failed the people of Ohio by letting the tax break swallow an additional $1.5 billion in 2025. Knowing all of this, the General Assembly must still overturn DeWine's veto to end this tax giveaway to the biggest companies in the world.”