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UGA study finds 30% of Georgia data-center activity tied to sales-tax exemption; lawmakers, unions clash as repeal is proposed
Summary
Researchers told the Senate Finance Committee that 30% of data-center construction and activity is attributable to Georgia's sales-tax exemption for data centers; industry groups warned repeal would hurt investment and jobs, while unions said construction and maintenance work depends on the projects. No repeal vote was taken.
Tommy Shepherd, an economist at the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government, told the Senate Finance Committee that a new econometric analysis attributes roughly 30% of the state's data-center activity to the state's sales-tax exemption for high-technology data centers.
The study, presented by Shepherd and introduced to the committee by Matt Teddle of the Department of Audits, estimated net foregone state revenue in 2025 at about $432,600,000, with a but-for-adjusted total of about 10,146 jobs and an estimated $1.25 billion in value added to the economy. Shepherd said the study's model produced a return of about $2.89 in economic activity for each dollar of foregone tax revenue and that additional tax revenue generated by related spending was roughly $41.5 million for the same period.
The committee and researchers discussed methodology and how…
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