The top Democratic lawmaker on the Senate Finance Committee has floated increasing taxes on data centers, a move critics say could raise costs on services used by practically all Americans.Sen.Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released a white paper proposal last week calling to end tax incentives for data centers and to impose an ongoing tax on data centers operating in the United States.
Critics of Wyden’s proposal argue that the costs of the new tax could ultimately be borne by all Americans by increasing the costs of common services."This tax will be paid by anyone who uses the internet.A tax on data centers is a tax on your email, family photos, small business operations, cloud storage, and your Instagram, X, TikTok and Facebook posts," Americans for Tax Reform director of innovation technology James Erwin said.
"Senator Wyden is betraying his legacy as a champion of a free and open internet accessible to all."TEXAS GOV.GREG ABBOTT EFFECTIVELY PAUSES NEW DATA CENTER PROJECTS PENDING STATEWIDE GRID AUDITU.S.
Sen.Ron Wyden (D-OR) leaves a Senate Democratic meeting at the U.S.
Capitol Building on Oct.3, 2025 in Washington, DC.
The federal government shut down early Wednesday after Congress and the White House failed to reach a funding deal.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)Americans for Tax Reform dubbed Wyden’s proposal a "national internet tax."Wyden’s office did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Monday.Wyden’s white paper acknowledges that there is some difficulty in applying a tax to data centers, given how common such facilities are and how wide their utilization is."Generally, a data center is a facility that primarily contains electronic equipment used to process, store, and transmit digital information, and may be free-standing or within a larger structure that uses environmental control equipment to maintain the proper conditions for the operation of electronic equipment," the white paper reads.
"This definition alone would...