Wisconsin lawmakers face calls to end data center sales tax exemption
Constituents in western Wisconsin are demanding that State Representative Shannon Zimmerman and Assemblyman Clint Moses roll back a state sales tax exemption for data centers. Residents gathered in River Falls, raising concerns about the full public cost and impact on communities and water supplies from data center growth.
Constituents in western Wisconsin are pressuring State Representative Shannon Zimmerman and Assemblyman Clint Moses to repeal a state sales tax exemption for data centers, which they helped enact three years ago. Critics argue that lawmakers should not promise decades of tax exemptions without fully calculating the public cost of the enormous growth in data center technologies and industries.
Residents recently gathered in River Falls, Zimmerman's home district, to voice their demands. Assemblyman Moses, representing Dunn County, another area with significant discussion around data centers, also supported the exemption. Speakers emphasized the need for leaders who demand transparency, enforce real protections, and ensure new technology benefits everyday people while keeping children safe, rather than signing away community livelihoods. Concerns were also raised about whether modern data centers can coexist with neighbors and local water supplies.