Republicans warn eliminated tax cut could push data centers to competitor states

The Washington state legislature has narrowly passed a bill eliminating a tax exemption for data center replacement equipment, despite bipartisan opposition. Republican lawmakers warn this could push data centers to move to other states with more favorable tax policies, hurting economic development and union jobs in eastern and central Washington communities. The bill is part of a larger $2 billion spending increase plan by Democrats, who say the tax exemption elimination will generate $200 million over 4 years. However, Republicans argue the bill will be a "union building trade job killer" and that the Legislature could have passed the budget without this move.