Report: 30% of Georgia’s data centers traced to 2018 tax break

(The Center Square) – Only 30% of Georgia’s data center boom can be attributed to 2018 tax break intended to support the industry, according to a report released Wednesday from the State Department of Audits and Accounts.

The report, conducted by the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government, contrasts with its previously released study and is expected to continue a debate over whether data centers should be publicly incentivized to power the increasing needs of artificial intelligence and other computing demands.

Seventy percent of Georgia’s data centers would have been constructed even without the sales and use tax exemption approved by state lawmakers, the report said. The university’s 2022 study had estimated 90% of data center activity was because of the tax break.

Researchers said their previous report did not have all the information required for an accurate analysis. They said they did not use data from the Georgia Department of Revenue because “too few taxpayers had utilized ...