Council Bluffs is addressing tax incentives tied to Google's Southlands data center. Separately, concerns have been raised about potential lost revenue tied to Google's fee cap.
According to the Daily Nonpareil, Council Bluffs is seeking to correct how tax incentives for the Southlands development have been administered.
Google's Council Bluffs data center, part of the Southlands development, has been valued at $5.5 billion and has already received more than $36 million in tax incentives, per Axios. That scale helps explain why concerns that exemptions may have exceeded their approved terms carry real financial weight for city coffers.
The Electric Franchise Fee Fight
Separately, Council Bluffs has raised concerns about potential lost revenue tied to Google's fee cap, the Nonpareil reports.
Mayor Jill Shudak is scheduled to discuss the issues at a town hall Thursday at 6 p.m. at Lewis Central Middle School.
Part of a Bigger Iowa Pattern
Council Bluffs is not alone in grappling with the scale of data-center tax breaks. Iowa provides at least $150 million in data-center tax credits each year, based on state-reported sales and property-tax exemptions, according to Axios, and that figure is expected to grow in the next tax-expenditure report given the pace of new data-center development and the broader AI boom. Many of the state's data-center property tax exemptions run more than 20 years, the same report notes.
The Iowa Economic Development Authority board approved a separate incentive arrangement for Google in Cedar Rapids in March 2024. The approved arrangement provides $56 million in local property tax exemptions over 20 years, tied to a proposed $576 million capital investment, according to the Business Record. That project, planned for the Big Cedar Industrial Park along 76th Avenue SW and Edgewood Road SW, is expected to create 31 full-time jobs paying $31.44 per hour by the end of its performance period in 2031, with the 20-year, 70% tax break contingent on Google meeting those employment thresholds.
