Poll: Tennesseans Say ‘NO’ To Tax Breaks For Data Centers

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***Note from The Tennessee Conservative – this article posted here for informational purposes only.

By Kim Jarrett, The Center Square –

The majority of Tennesseans surveyed said they opposed giving tax breaks to data centers, while the majority supported a bill that keeps electricity costs from being passed on to consumers. 

Sixty-one percent of the 1,200 residents polled said they oppose data center tax breaks, 27% support them, and 13% were unsure. 

Respondents were supportive of House Bill 1847, passed by the General Assembly this year and signed by Gov. Bill Lee, that requires data centers that use more than 50 megawatts of power to pay their own electricity costs. Seventy percent of those surveyed said they supported the law, 15% opposed it, and 15% were not sure. 

Most respondents (24%) were most concerned about data centers’ effect on electricity costs, 19% about water and other environmental impacts, and 13% about the health and safety impacts on nearby communities. 

The majority of those polled, 38%, said they believed that data centers have existed only in the last five years, with 20% saying they began in the last 25 years. Thirty-one percent said they were not sure when data centers first existed, while 4% said they have existed for more than 50 years. 

“The truth of the matter is that, regardless of your personal views, data centers and AI are here to stay,” said Justin Owens, CEO of The Beacon Center, a Tennessee-based free market policy and research organization. “With so much misinformation circulating about them, we wanted to see how Tennesseans really feel about their impact before policymakers at all levels of government rush to respond with potential regulations.”

The latest Beacon Poll has a margin of error of 2.77%.

Tennessee governments are enacting policies regarding data centers. 

The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County placed a temporary moratorium on data center development after Atlanta-based D.C. Blox announced a facility near the Nashville Zoo.

D.C. Blox is suing the government, saying Metro officials are refusing to process the company’s permits in what it calls in court documents a “targeted attack” that violates federal constitutional protections. The case is still pending.

Three Memphis City Council members are proposing a temporary halt to data center development.

J.B. Smiley Jr., Yolanda Cooper-Sutton and Council Chairwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington are sponsoring the resolution that proposes more study about the effects of data centers on water, utilities and surrounding neighborhoods. The 12-month moratorium, first introduced in late August, must have three readings before it is approved. 

Memphis is also home to xAI’s Colossus. 

The data center did not receive tax breaks from the city or state; instead, it is investing 25% of the tax revenue it generates into communities within 5 miles of the site, according to an agreement reached by Memphis leaders in 2025.