LANSING – Michigan Data Center Alliance Executive Chair Carrie Wheeler today released the following statement opposing Senate Bill 455.
“On behalf of the Michigan Data Center Alliance, we strongly oppose this misguided legislation because it provides a special carve-out for a single data center that just entered the Michigan market. In the competitive field of data centers and information technology, lawmakers should be promoting tax fairness, not be picking winners and losers to advantage a single company with political clout and well-connected lobbyists. Moreover, the Switch special tax carve-out clearly harms local schools, local governments and local communities, leaving taxpayers on the hook for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars.
Long before Switch entered the market, Michigan data centers have been investing in our state for years, creating jobs, supporting local communities and driving economic growth during good times and bad. We urge lawmakers to reject this ill-conceived legislation and encourage Switch to partner with its local schools and communities in a way that is a ‘win-win’ for everyone involved, including the Michigan data centers who have only ever asked to be on an equal playing field so they can compete, invest, grow and innovate.”
The Michigan Data Center Alliance is a coalition of nine Michigan-based companies operating 38 data centers statewide and employing nearly 1,000 Michiganders. For more information, contact Byrum & Fisk Communications at 517-333-1606.