New Albany's roughly 40 data centers pump $10 million a year into city coffers. A bipartisan wave of opposition across Ohio threatens the tax incentives that helped build the business park.
Every candidate for Ohio governor has proposed some form of moratorium on new data center construction. A Bowling Green State University poll found 71% of Ohioans favor a temporary ban. And on Sept. 8, U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, called for ending all public subsidies for data centers, as we reported earlier Tuesday.
The political shift puts a spotlight on New Albany's International Business Park, where 68 data center buildings are complete or under construction across more than 14.5 million square feet, according to Bloomberg Tax. Development Director Jennifer Chrysler confirmed the city has close to 40 operational data centers at the April 21 council meeting.
$2.3 billion in tax breaks under fire
At the center of the backlash: $2.3 billion in tax exemptions former Gov. John Kasich granted to Google, Amazon and Meta before leaving office in 2019, some lasting 40 years. The deals were not widely known until the Columbus Dispatch reported on them in June, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.
Ohio lost $1.6 billion in data center tax revenue in 2025 alone, 11 times more than the state had estimated, according to Signal Ohio as cited by the Ohio Capital Journal. Gov. Mike DeWine paused new incentive applications in May after those figures surfaced.
Policy Matters Ohio estimates the Google, Amazon and Meta subsidies will cost taxpayers $1 million per permanent job created.
Governor's race centers on data centers
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy announced Aug. 6 he would sign an executive order halting new data center approvals on his first day in office. His plan would require new facilities to generate their own power, provide free electricity to nearby residents and pay full property taxes, the Ohio Capital Journal reported.
Democrat Amy Acton proposed a conditional moratorium unless data centers cover 100% of their utility costs, are built on brownfields and previously developed sites, and use union labor, according to the Statehouse News Bureau.
The next governor will appoint all five members of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), which sets utility rates and parameters for data centers statewide.
What it means for New Albany
New Albany collects a special assessment from data centers based on property valuations that can run three times the price per square foot of regular office space, according to Bloomberg Tax. That $10 million in community development charges in tax year 2024 helped fund a police station expansion, a veterans' memorial and a natural space with trails and a playground, Bloomberg Tax reported.
According to the city's data center finance page, minimum payment amounts are guaranteed over the course of abatement agreements, insulating revenue from industry downturns. The financial security has helped New Albany earn a AAA bond rating from both Moody's and S&P.
Chrysler told Bloomberg Tax in late 2025 that New Albany is "diversified enough to handle it" if the state ends its sales tax exemption or the AI market contracts.
Not all residents share that confidence. Michael Swanson addressed city council on Dec. 16, 2025, calling for a formal report on data center tax incentives, water usage and electricity impacts. He cited two communities that had passed 90-day moratoriums.
Mayor Sloan Spalding responded that data center activity "happened in this council chambers. It was open and transparent," and invited Swanson to review Tax Incentive Review Council records, according to council minutes.
What comes next
Ohio lawmakers failed to pass data center legislation before the legislature's summer recess. The governor's race heads to the November general election. The grassroots group Conserve Ohio is collecting signatures to put a constitutional amendment banning new data centers on the 2027 ballot.
