Large Illinois data centers can avoid paying almost 40% of taxes

The state’s data center investment program has multiple requirements to qualify: a capital investment of at least $250 million, at least 20 new full-time jobs that pay “120% of the average wage paid to full-time employees in the county where the data center is located.” Data centers must obtain a specific green building standard within two years of completion and “must require its contractor to enter into a project labor agreement” approved by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Tax Foundation, an international think tank that commonly advocates for lower taxation, notes: "Calculations are for average tax liability over the first 10 years of operations to capture both new and depreciating property and taxable purchases, and represent an average across data centers in 12 modeled jurisdictions. The model firm has $220 million in gross revenue and 15 percent net income before tax, and calculations assume qualification for exemptions routinely available to data centers of this size."
Chart: Dilpreet Raju, Illinois TimesSource: Tax Foundation, State Taxation of Data CentersGet the dataDownload imageCreated with Datawrapper