A new Good Jobs First report warns that most states offering data center incentives conceal which companies benefit, limiting public oversight, Louisiana Illuminator writes.
The watchdog found 36 states provide subsidies tailored to data centers, yet only 11 disclose recipient companies. As demand for server farms surges, projects often rely on NDAs, code names and subsidiaries that obscure beneficiaries—even as they require massive energy use and substantial public support.
The study focuses on sales and use tax exemptions and excludes other common incentives like property tax abatements and discounted utility rates. Virginia, the world’s largest data center market, forgoes nearly $1 billion annually without revealing who receives the subsidies. The organization also points to Louisiana for not disclosing how much in tax subsidies it is giving Meta to build the world’s largest data center in the state.
Good Jobs First argues these deals frequently fail to deliver a positive return for taxpayers and urges states to scale back or eliminate subsidies. With federal funding cuts expected to pressure state budgets, the group says full transparency is the minimum needed for responsible economic development spending.
