Rep. Troy Introduces Legislation to Ban Property Tax Abatements for Data Centers

COLUMBUS - State Rep. Daniel Troy (D-Willowick) today introduced House Bill (HB) 999, to ban property tax exemptions for data centers. The legislation would not only examine whether or not existing property tax abatements could be terminated but would also prohibit local governments from providing future property tax breaks of any variety to data centers in their communities.

Property tax exemptions are generally given to encourage development that typically wouldn’t occur without local assistance. However, Ohio is already a national leader in both the number of operational data centers and tax breaks offered to these facilities. In 2013, the Ohio Executive Branch authorized the Ohio Data Center Tax Exemption (DCTE), a 100% sales tax exemption offered to data centers and administered by the Department of Development. At the time, the state revenue loss from the DCTE was estimated at approximately $136 million. As of 2025, it has cost the state $1.6 billion, a miscalculation of nearly 1200%.

“These property tax incentives are nothing more than unjustified giveaways. Ensuring that these data centers are required to pay all of their property taxes will certainly help lessen the burden on residential property owners and constitute significant relief in that area,” said Rep. Troy. “I certainly am not suggesting that we put out the welcome mat for data centers in Ohio, but if these highly profitable entities are going to show up in our state, we need to make sure that they pay property taxes that correspond to their whole value. While this proposal is not a panacea for addressing the controversial issue of data centers, it certainly will help make sure that their continued development at least pays their fair share rather than continuing to shift the burden onto our homeowners.”

HB 999 now awaits committee assignment and a first hearing.