Meta to Receive $3.3 Billion in Tax Breaks for Louisiana Data Center

The tax breaks will exempt the project from state and local sales and use taxes on data center equipment for 20 years. Sherwood News calculated the figure based on the state's combined sales tax rate of 9.56 percent applied to roughly $35 billion in planned spending on GPUs for the facility.

The incentives were approved by Richland Parish commissioners in July 2024 and will go to Laidley LLC, a Delaware-registered affiliate of Meta. Data centers provide the computing infrastructure for artificial intelligence systems. Companies are spending nearly $700 billion to build such facilities this year.

Many of the projects are large, with some exceeding two times the size of Manhattan's Central Park, and are being constructed in rural and suburban areas.

At least 36 states provide tax breaks for data center construction, resulting in billions of dollars in forgone revenue. Virginia offers $1.9 billion annually while Georgia provides $2.6 billion per year according to state estimates. Texas increased its annual figure from $150 million in 2024 to more than $1 billion this year.

In Louisiana the $3.3 billion committed to one Meta project exceeds the annual amounts offered by those states. Kasia Tarczynska, senior research analyst at Good Jobs First, told Fortune the $3.3 billion estimate is conservative and that the subsidies are likely larger than anyone can predict.

More than 3,000 data centers are planned or under construction in addition to nearly 4,000 facilities already in operation. Meta said the Hyperion project will employ more than 5,000 skilled-trade workers during peak construction and support more than 500 operational roles when completed.

The company has committed to investments in local schools and nonprofit organizations in Richland Parish. It will also provide more than $300 million to improve infrastructure including roads and wastewater management.

Tarczynska stated these are wasteful subsidies for an industry that is growing very quickly and does not need public investments or support. She added that many subsidy numbers are estimates calculated by state governments and local officials, with data remaining opaque as only 11 states disclose which companies receive the breaks.

Good Jobs First estimates an Amazon facility in New Carlisle, Indiana has received an $8.2 billion total tax break across two agreements. Neither Meta nor Amazon provided comment to Fortune. Louisiana's and Indiana's Departments of Revenue did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Lawmakers in at least 28 states with tax incentives have introduced proposals to amend or repeal them, primarily to manage energy demand or reduce forgone revenue. Local opposition blocked 48 data center projects in 2025 with a total value of $156 billion.

A recent Gallup poll found more than seven out of 10 Americans oppose building data centers where they live.