James_March-April_2026_web - Flipbook - Page 52
ABOUT THOS E TA X B R E A K S
According to some legislators,
Georgia’s data center tax incentives are no longer needed. Sen.
Matt Brass, a Republican who
chairs the powerful Senate Rules
Committee, recently pointed to the
state’s affordable energy, attractive
business climate and access to talent as reasons companies want to
build data centers here. “There’s all
these reasons they want to come
here, and the tax incentive I don’t
believe is one of them,” said Brass
at a committee hearing earlier in
the session.
Poole, though, isn’t so sure. “In
our experience, tax incentives are
key to choosing where to develop once a particular region (i.e.,
the Southeast) is selected. I think
Georgia needs to reconsider the
competitive risk it’s facing from
states that are neighboring it...
Mississippi wants these, Alabama
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wants these, South Carolina wants
these. Given the level of competition and given how much AI is
likely to contribute to society in
the future, Georgians should consider the advantages of hosting
AI-computer data centers.”
LET’S LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
Per a recent report from the
Georgia Department of Audits and
Accounts, in 2025 data centers
created 28,350 construction-related jobs, adding $3.4 billion to the
state economy. On top of those
construction jobs, they created another 5,471 permanent operations
positions for an additional $823
million injection into the state
economy. That study found each
standard, three-building data center campus in metro Atlanta represents some $2.3 billion in total
capital investment and about $34
million per year in local property
tax revenue. But the study also
shows that Georgia’s Data Center
Sales & Use Tax Exemption, enacted in 2018, cost the state $474 million in foregone state tax revenue
in FY2025. This balance between
lost state revenue versus secondary and tertiary economic benefits
is central to the ongoing debate
around state tax incentives.
Unless you think Americans
are going to put down their smart
phones anytime soon and that
AI, cloud, streaming services and
more will simply disappear overnight, data centers are here to stay.
But whether Georgia remains at
the forefront of the industry will be
determined by how state lawmakers choose to address the rules
and regulations that will govern
their future.
Patrick Hickey is the office manager, as
well as a staff writer for James, and James
Magazine Online.
