The economic development legislation makes Illinois on par with 30 other states that have enticing tax breaks targeted toward the development of data centers on the books, according to the state's press release.
The law allows for an exemption from sales tax for entities seeking to invest at least $250 million to build a data center and creates a 20 percent income tax credit against wages if the facility is built in an underserved area. For the construction of a data center to be exempt from building taxes, all contractors and subcontractors must comply with the responsible bidder sections of the Illinois Procurement Code, the release states.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently signed the bill into law. Pritzker said in a prepared statement that data centers have become as critical to a state’s infrastructure as roads, trains and schools.
“With the legislation I signed into law, we are welcoming a surge of economic development, labor income, and good union jobs to Illinois — and not just here in the established market of Chicago, but across our whole state,” he said.
Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, also said in the press release that the law’s provisions will give Illinois a competitive edge to lead the Midwest in economic development.
"On top of high-speed fiber networks, competitive electricity rates, and open land for development, we now have tax incentives that will spur hundreds of millions of dollars in new investments,” Demmer said. “I was glad to work with business and labor, and both Republicans and Democrats, to help enact this exciting new program.”
Legislators and the governor’s office will be able to track the effectiveness of the incentives with an annual report on the tax credit’s outcome and effectiveness.
