Legislator Says State Needs To Figure Out Who Gets Money From Data Center Boom

Wyoming State Senator Cale Case (R-Lander) has initiated discussions regarding the allocation of tax revenues generated by the state's growing data center industry. During an interview on the "Cowboy State Daily Show," Sen. Case questioned whether Wyoming is collecting sufficient taxes from these facilities and how the existing revenue is distributed among state and local entities. The debate centers on Wyoming's manufacturing sales and use tax exemption, which allows data centers to avoid sales tax on servers for three years. While Betsey Hale, CEO of Cheyenne LEADS, an economic development organization for Cheyenne and Laramie County, acknowledges the exemption is crucial for attracting development, Sen. Case notes that data centers frequently replace servers, effectively bypassing sales taxes on significant purchases. He has proposed changes to how sales tax revenue, particularly from electricity, which data centers pay, is distributed, advocating for a system that benefits more local governments statewide, rather than primarily concentrating funds in Cheyenne. Sen. Case highlighted the immense electricity consumption of data centers, stating that one facility can use nearly twice as much electricity as the entire state of Wyoming. He indicated that the Wyoming Legislature plans to consider changes to sales taxes on electricity, potentially introducing a gross receipts tax to ensure fairer contributions to state tax revenue. These proposed changes could significantly alter the economic benefits data centers bring to Wyoming communities.