Nevadans get few details into data centers receiving tax breaks — and it might be illegal

Nevada's decade-old tax abatement program for data centers, which has granted an estimated $457 million in tax breaks to companies like Google and Apple, faces criticism for its lack of transparency and potential violations of state public records law. The Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED), responsible for approving these deals, only tracks jobs, wages, and capital expenditures, not the actual economic output or tax revenues generated by data centers. The Nevada Independent's analysis reveals that GOED allows data center companies to determine public access to their audits, a practice legal experts, including Jake Valentine of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, say contradicts state law. State Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas), a vocal skeptic of tax abatements, has criticized the incomplete information and the power granted to corporations over state interests. Despite GOED Director Tom Burns asserting compliance with state law, inconsistencies and significant lag times in public reports have been identified, with no audit findings available for abatements approved since 2018. While the economic benefits remain largely projections, the financial costs are substantial, with data center tax abatements leading to a $537 million reduction in local government sales and use taxes from 2017-2025. Data centers also face backlash over limited permanent job creation and significant water and energy consumption, leading to concerns about the state's clean energy goals. Although local governments like Reno and Lyon County have made various zoning decisions related to data centers, the core issue of transparency in the statewide tax incentive program remains unresolved, with challenging GOED's records denial requiring a lawsuit.