COLUMBUS, OH (WLIO) – Governor Mike DeWine says data centers will play a critical role in Ohio’s future economic growth. That’s why he vetoed a provision that would have prohibited the Ohio Tax Credit Authority from entering into any new sales and use tax exemptions for data centers after October 1st.
Some groups across the state have raised concerns about the size of Ohio’s tax exemption agreements for data centers, and the relatively low number of jobs they create and the high amount of energy they consume.
But DeWine argues that the benefits extend beyond direct employment. He says the centers help attract additional business investments and boost the tax base for local schools.
“Data centers can significantly help local schools, in the sense that they don't employ a lot of people, they don't put a lot of people to school. But what they do is, because of the valuation, they add a lot to that tax base. But that's the one thing we don't talk about. The main thing is if we want Ohio to move forward, we have to move with history. We cannot be behind history. We have to be ahead of history, and we have to be with it, and with the flow. And the flow is that data centers are important, and they're important to our future,” says DeWine.
According to the president of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, their data shows that Ohio now ranks fifth in the nation by facility count, with approximately 179 data centers. In 2024, those centers supported 95,000 jobs and contributed $1 billion in state and local taxes.
