Maryland General Assembly Candidate Proposes Repealing Data Center Tax Exemptions, Addressing Energy Costs
A candidate for the Maryland General Assembly is advocating to repeal the state's sales and use tax exemption for data centers, citing it as an overly generous subsidy that offers few jobs. The candidate also proposes legislation to exempt defense-related IT service contracts and small businesses from a new 3% IT services tax, and seeks to ensure data centers pay their fair share for electricity grid upgrades.
The article presents responses from a candidate running for the Maryland General Assembly in District 29, covering Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary's counties, focusing on their policy positions for the 2026 election. A key concern for the candidate is the state's fiscal management, particularly the 2027 budget, which shifted pension costs to counties and allowed a 3% IT services tax to take effect. The candidate argues this tax disproportionately harms small businesses and defense subcontractors in Southern Maryland, while the state offers a "ridiculous" sales and use tax exemption to data centers for up to 20 years with minimal investment requirements.
The candidate proposes introducing legislation to exempt defense-related IT service contracts and small businesses from the 2025 IT services tax. Furthermore, they advocate for repealing the data center sales and use tax exemption, phasing out new exemptions while honoring existing agreements, and redirecting recovered revenue. The candidate also suggests that large new grid loads, such as those from data centers, should be required to directly fund transmission upgrades rather than spreading costs to all ratepayers, and that data centers should bear real consequences for peak electricity usage.
Beyond data center specific policies, the candidate emphasizes a "data-first approach to Governance" by requiring performance audits of corporate tax credits, publishing data briefs for all proposed legislation, and tracking commitments. They also discuss gun control, healthcare access, local control, education funding, and transportation infrastructure, advocating for fiscal responsibility, tax cuts, and eliminating "wasteful spending" on underperforming corporate subsidies.