Ohio has committed a total of $2.3 billion in sales tax exemptions for data centers, new state data shows, though officials say the total cost over the long term could be “significantly higher.”
Some of the largest companies on the planet will receive an outsize share of the pie. That’s $600 million each, distributed over a 40 year window ending as late as 2058, to affiliates of Google, Meta and Amazon. In exchange, the companies agreed to invest billions of dollars in capital in Ohio.
From there, Cologix gets $93 million in tax breaks spread over two facilities, while Vantage gets $83 million, and QTS Data Centers and Microsoft each get $73 million.
“Given the uncapped nature of the tax exemption, final numbers could be significantly higher,” the document states. “The term of the exemptions are dependent on increased metrics and investments.”
All told, 18 companies have claimed exemptions worth $121 million on average, according to documents from the Ohio Department of Development that were shared with Signal Statewide by two statehouse Democrats.
The document’s properties show it was written by the department’s chief investment officer, one day before Gov. Mike DeWine ordered a freeze of the tax exemption given sticker shock when the state Tax Department revealed the exemption cost Ohio $1.6 billion in lost revenue in 2025.
Rep. Tristan Rader, a Lakewood Democrat, provided a copy of the spreadsheet, the contents of which have been generally withheld from the public or only released in bits and pieces. He said it reflects Republicans’ poor priorities as they advance new restrictions on Medicaid providers while throwing money at well-heeled tech companies.
“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that we’re spending all this time going after caregivers of disabled children as fraudsters … when we’re handing out billions of dollars to data centers and nobody even seems to know about it?” he said. “And then as soon as they get caught, it’s a bad idea all of a sudden.”
Ohio Department of Development spokesman Mason Waldvogel in a statement that the public has been kept apprised of the tax breaks, which have grown in concert with the companies’ own investments.
“The exemption amounts are based on the qualifying investments companies make. In some cases, companies ultimately invest more into projects, which can result in a larger exemption than initial estimates,” he said. “Additionally, costs of constructing and equipping large-scale facilities have largely increased.”
Billions in breaks, sparse job creation
In most cases, the promised full-time job creation is sparse. Amazon, which includes a massive retail arm, promised to bring 1,058 jobs to Ohio. But on average, each other facility has pledged about 30 jobs apiece.
The spreadsheet doesn’t span the full length of the public subsidization of data centers in Ohio. Many receive tax abatements of all or some of their property lasting as long as 15 years. And Amazon also won a job creation tax credit in connection with one of its data centers here.
Amid an outcry that began after news broke of the $1.6 billion cost of the sales tax exemption last year, DeWine announced a pause on future issuances of the exemption while a newly created, data center-specific legislative committee fields testimony and says it will propose legislation of some form.
Sen. Brian Chavez, a Washington County Republican and key negotiator on the issue, said Tuesday that the latest proposal would essentially cut all future sales tax exemptions in half. However, officials would be more generous with facilities that build their own power plants or that build on brownfields. It also slashes the maximum value of the facilities’ property tax abatements.
The bill hasn’t passed the Senate Energy committee as of Tuesday, but it’s scheduled for a series of hearings Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday, indicating it could be fast-tracked for passage before lawmakers recess for the summer.