SC Data Centers vs. GA Data Centers -- Comparing Incentives

Competition for business is taking place all over the U.S. in the form of tax incentives. Many states offer highly profitable tax breaks to attract data centers to shop within their borders.

The Associated Press analyzed state revenue and economic development records and found that nearly $1.5 billion in tax incentives had been extended to data center projects nationwide during the past decade.

These incentives typically involve waiving sales or property taxes on the expensive equipment data centers require. South Carolina and Georgia are two states that go the extra mile to solicit the economic benefits that data centers represent. 

South Carolina Data Centers

South Carolina established a data center incentive that allowed a 100% exemption of sales tax on computer equipment intended for use in the data center. A few years later, three more enhancements were made that favored SC data centers:

• Lowering the minimum number of jobs created from 100 to 25
• Reducing capital investment requirements from $300 million to $50 million
• Supporting the exemption of sales taxes on data center electricity consumption

Then Google selected South Carolina as a data center site; during that time, the facility doubled in size. Google has confirmed that it intends to invest $1.2 billion in its state data centers.

Georgia Data Centers

A while back, Georgia became one of the first states to offer a data center incentive. It enacted a program granting a 100% sales tax exemption on computer equipment acquisitions of $15 million or more in a year. Eventually, the exemption grew to include sales taxes on construction materials.

This wider exemption, along with an abundance of inexpensive electricity and fiber-optic networks and a geography comparatively free of natural disasters, has made Atlanta, in particular, a leading destination for data center startups.

Then Google announced that it would be expanding its data center in Atlanta by an extra 500,000 square feet, creating at least 25 new local jobs and making gigabit-speed Internet access available in the area.

Not all states offer incentives like those enjoyed by GA and SC data centers, but the trend is gradually changing. There is a growing understanding that with data centers come a highly skilled workforce, an infrastructure for other companies to build on, and a host of other important economic benefits.

Does your state offer any incentives to encourage data center startups?  Let us know your thoughts in the Comments box below.

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