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Meta to receive $3.3B in tax breaks for its $10B Louisiana data center

fortune.com

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Re: Meta to receive $3.3B in tax breaks for its $10B Louisiana data center

#61

Post by charcircuit »

recursivecaveat wrote: post #54
cj wrote: post #9

No one likes to see big companies avoid taxes. But I don't see what other options are available for states to compete with each other if not through tax breaks. Edit: I suppose if you ban tax breaks, if a state wants to be competitive, they still can but through modifying the tax code for everyone instead of giving certain people exceptions. That doesn't seem like a terrible alternative..

The endgame of competing with lower taxes is handing out $99 in incentives to get $100 of mobile corporate spending in your area. The only winners are the corporations. There needs to be a collective spine.

The other winners are whoever the companies is selling goods or services to.

Re: Meta to receive $3.3B in tax breaks for its $10B Louisiana data center

#62

Post by meric_ »

hilariously wrote: post #40
aspenmartin wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well said: why does a tax break bother people so much? That feels pretty populist to me: data centers of this magnitude offer a ton of economic benefits to the area and the state, 3.3B in tax breaks are the price to pay to incentivize them to bring the business to the area, which will then provide a net positive financial benefit. I can see plenty of problems with data center construction that should definitely be ad…

Because its my money, paid to rich people, to make them richer. There's no obvious "net positive financial benefit" in many of these situations, and even if there was the impact they make is not just in financials, but in utility management, environmental management, etc - its not just a magic number go up.

It's not your money. Tax breaks are no ones money. No money is being sent for a tax break.

Re: Meta to receive $3.3B in tax breaks for its $10B Louisiana data center

#63

Post by pertymcpert »

laweijfmvo wrote: post #45
adamredwoods wrote: post #38

From https://sherwood.news/tech/hyperion/ >> Per the report, the package of tax breaks and incentives was achieved through local officials bound by nondisclosure agreements, quietly struck legislative deals, and parliamentary sleight of hand to avoid public scrutiny of the deal. >> So the residents of Richland Parish did not have much of a heads-up on what was coming. No voting, no public interests, only closed-door…

but there will be voting; all of the elected officials will have to face elections at some point, and voters can put their feet down right now: everyone is voted out.

That's already factored in the cost of doing business for them.

Re: Meta to receive $3.3B in tax breaks for its $10B Louisiana data center

#64

Post by 83 »

aspenmartin wrote: post #20
ChadNauseam wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's tempting to blame any political outcome you don't like on lobbying. It allows you to believe that almost no one supports the outcome that you don't like, because you can blame it on politicians manage to be bought by a small number of lobbyists. But it might not be the case. Several states (I believe Texas, Georgia, and Indiana) don't charge sales tax to data centers. So from Louisiana's perspective, the alterna…

Well said: why does a tax break bother people so much? That feels pretty populist to me: data centers of this magnitude offer a ton of economic benefits to the area and the state, 3.3B in tax breaks are the price to pay to incentivize them to bring the business to the area, which will then provide a net positive financial benefit. I can see plenty of problems with data center construction that should definitely be ad…

I find it bothersome because the system incentivizes giant megacorp monopolies. If you are small you'll have to pay taxes like everyone else, but once you hit some threshold of huge enough, we'll let taxes slide so you can get another leg up. A datacenter this size isn't going to provide more economic benefit than 50 datacenters 1/50 the size, but only one of them gets special treatment.

Combine that with the fact that large corporations constantly find ways to avoid paying taxes and its hard to be positive about this kind of thing.

Re: Meta to receive $3.3B in tax breaks for its $10B Louisiana data center

#65

Post by shimman »

nomorewords wrote: post #49
laweijfmvo wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but there will be voting; all of the elected officials will have to face elections at some point, and voters can put their feet down right now: everyone is voted out.

When the damage is already done?

It's okay, as the on-going damage continues Americans tend to be well armed enough to go on a few rampages here and there.

Re: Meta to receive $3.3B in tax breaks for its $10B Louisiana data center

#66

Post by pertymcpert »

ReptileMan wrote: post #29
cj wrote: post #9

No one likes to see big companies avoid taxes. But I don't see what other options are available for states to compete with each other if not through tax breaks. Edit: I suppose if you ban tax breaks, if a state wants to be competitive, they still can but through modifying the tax code for everyone instead of giving certain people exceptions. That doesn't seem like a terrible alternative..

Infrastructure is a good one. Universities and high quality labor too.

Universities...for a data center?

Re: Meta to receive $3.3B in tax breaks for its $10B Louisiana data center

#67

Post by philipallstar »

nomorewords wrote: post #49
laweijfmvo wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but there will be voting; all of the elected officials will have to face elections at some point, and voters can put their feet down right now: everyone is voted out.

When the damage is already done?

That is how everyone decision works, yes. That's why you want limited government. Voting where you can't vote with your money is a very low-quality, delayed signal.

Re: Meta to receive $3.3B in tax breaks for its $10B Louisiana data center

#68

Post by 8note »

cj wrote: post #9

No one likes to see big companies avoid taxes. But I don't see what other options are available for states to compete with each other if not through tax breaks. Edit: I suppose if you ban tax breaks, if a state wants to be competitive, they still can but through modifying the tax code for everyone instead of giving certain people exceptions. That doesn't seem like a terrible alternative..

building a ton of renewable power is a pretty good one

data centers could be a great thing for helping with the duck curve and the like, if they can throttle up and down based on energy cost

Re: Meta to receive $3.3B in tax breaks for its $10B Louisiana data center

#69

Post by newfriend »

ceejayoz wrote: post #60
newfriend wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it's not less in local coffers. If the incentive was not given, the datacenter would not be built there. The state government wants it to be built there to increase economic activity in their state. Residents aren't paying more for anything and no services are being cut.

> But it's not less in local coffers. The local government is giving a local tax break, which comes out of their local tax revenue. > If the incentive was not given, the datacenter would not be built there. Objection, your honor, assuming facts not in evidence! (Nor are the incentives any sort of guarantee. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/21/foxconn-mostly-abandons-10-b... ) > Residents aren't paying more for anything a…

You are assuming the datacenter would be built there without the incentive. That is highly unlikely.

Re: Meta to receive $3.3B in tax breaks for its $10B Louisiana data center

#70

Post by shimman »

imzadi wrote: post #59
axpy906 wrote: post #16

Will the earth’s climate get tax breaks too? What about the people living around these and paying for taxes. What about zero sum game we have here.

The blinders on people about these things is insane. I'm in Arizona. We are having a water crisis but they are building data centers and oat milk factories. WTF?

Good, now start to question why such a system should continue to flourish and not be drowned violently in a bathtub.

Neoliberalism is a blight upon the world and it has only been around for 50ish years or so. It doesn't have to be this way.

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