Photo Credit - Vantage Data Centers
As the public discourse continues regarding AI data centers, three local state legislators are taking charge on removing some financial incentives.
Senator Andre Jacque and Representatives Lindee Brill and Shae Sortwell were joined by Neenah Assemblyman Dean Kaufert in the presentation of LRB 6903/1.
The bill looks to eliminate sales and use tax exemptions for data centers.
The exemption was created in 2023 by Wisconsin Act 19, which the legislators say incentivized “developers and Big Tech companies to pursue hyperscale data center projects throughout our state.”
Sen. Jacque stated in his press release, “Recent estimates indicate that data center developers could realize over $1.5 billion in tax savings as a result during the construction of current data center projects, and an additional $369 million annually once completed, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.”
Rep. Sortwell, meanwhile, noted, “I have openly opposed this exemption since it was signed into law back in 2023. This bill is a straightforward step toward greater accountability and fairness in our tax code.”
An August 2026 Marquette Law School Poll found that 78 percent of registered Wisconsin voters believe the costs associated with data centers outweigh their benefits.
67 percent favored a moratorium on new data center construction for at least one year, and roughly 86% of voters in the Village of Wrightstown in Brown County voted against any support or subsidy for future data centers in a referendum during the August 2026 Primary Election.
