State report says data centers a boon to economy despite tax giveaway

Data centers promise to enrich Georgia even as the state is giving them nearly half a billion dollars a year in tax breaks, according to a recent state analysis.

The analysis for the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts said the state effectively gave away $474 million in the fiscal year that ended in July by exempting data centers from some taxes.

Since 2018, Georgia has waived state and local sales taxes on some construction materials and on computers, servers and related equipment for larger data centers.