Pappas Helps Introduce New Legislation to Stop Tax Giveaways for Data Centers

Today Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) joined Representatives Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08) and Don Davis (NC-01) in introducing the Reverse Big Ugly Tax Breaks for Data Centers Act, which would rein in tax giveaways for data center development.

Last year, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) significantly expanded tax breaks that have helped spur the construction of AI data centers; that same legislation cut over $1 trillion from Medicaid and SNAP food assistance. The Reverse Big Ugly Tax Breaks for Data Centers Act would exclude data centers from benefiting from those OBBBA tax breaks. Specifically, the bill would prohibit data centers from taking the 100% bonus depreciation tax deduction, and from being eligible for Opportunity Zone tax benefits. The bill text can be found here, and a one-pager on the bill can be found here. 

Read Rep. Pappas’s remarks below:

We’re here today to address big giveaways in the Republicans so-called ‘Big, Beautiful Bill.’

We know this bill gutted Medicaid and SNAP, and it did so by giving massive tax breaks to big corporations. 

Some of the big corporations given sweetheart deals through those cuts are the tech giants that are building data centers in districts all across the country.

The incentives are accelerating AI data center development. And our towns and cities shouldn’t have these data centers shoved down their throats without any recourse.

They deserve the right to decide what is appropriate for their community. 

Because we know things are far too expensive right now, and we know that this development is raising costs for our constituents.

Data center construction has already increased average electric rates nationwide by up to 6%.

In the communities in which they’re being built the increases can be even more than that.

We know that electricity isn’t the only utility affected by data center construction, because it affects water supply and consumption too.

With the rising cost of gas, of groceries, of housing, of everything across the board for our constituents, people can’t just afford any increase of any sort.

Big Tech and data center developers should be paying their fair share in taxes, and they shouldn’t be receiving huge tax breaks footed by the American people that raise costs for the rest of us. 

Shutting off this giveaway is a commonsense step. 

And I’m hopeful that this idea will gain support and bipartisan support in Congress as we work to make the economy fairer, lower costs for our constituents, and take on unchecked corporate special interests’ power.