Amazon's Ohio Data Centre Buildout Faces Tax Break Backlash

Amazon's $40 billion data centre buildout in Ohio is facing a new risk as lawmakers reconsider tax breaks that have helped turn the state into a major cloud-computing hub.

The immediate numbers are unlikely to threaten Amazon's balance sheet, but the bigger issue is what happens to the economics of its AI expansion if states begin asking Big Tech to pay more.

Amazon has invested nearly $40 billion in Ohio data centres since 2015 and paid almost $11 million in property taxes and fees last year. However, the figure mentioned is cumulative infrastructure investment, not $40 billion spent solely on AI.

Ohio's sales-tax exemption for data centre equipment cost the state more than $1.5 billion in 2025, versus an earlier estimate of about $136 million. Governor Mike DeWine paused new exemption requests in May while lawmakers review the programme.