Microsoft rejects NDAs, tax abatements in Ohio data center expansion

A Microsoft representative pledged the tech giant will no longer use non-disclosure agreements or seek local property tax abatements as it develops data centers in Ohio. But other tech companies didn’t make similar promises as part of wide-ranging testimony at the Ohio Statehouse.

The promises came as officials from four major data center companies − Microsoft, Meta, Google and Amazon − testified June 4 before a newly formed bipartisan Ohio legislature committee studying data centers and their economic, environmental and security impacts on Ohio – from water and energy use to tax breaks and everything in between.

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Meta, Google and Amazon have invested billions in central Ohio as the tech companies have built data centers throughout the state, and specifically in New Albany, over the last decade.

Microsoft is new to the region, and the company won’t seek local tax abatements as part of…