Four Wisconsin Republicans are calling for an end to a sales and use tax exemption for data centers, a policy that a state fiscal analysis estimates has saved developers $1.5 billion since it was enacted in 2023. The proposal was announced this week by state Sen. Andre Jacque of New Franken and Reps. Lindee Brill of Sheboygan Falls, Dean Kaufert of Neenah and Shae Sortwell of Two Rivers. Jacque and Kaufert are not seeking reelection. The exemption, included in the state’s 2023-25 budget, covers property and equipment used to build, renovate or operate data centers. A Legislative Fiscal Bureau analysis in March estimated the tax break’s savings to developers at $1.5 billion. The lawmakers’ co-sponsorship memo points to public opposition to data center projects and argues the tax code should not favor particular businesses. “The tax code should not be used to effectuate crony capitalism,” the memo says. The proposal is unlikely to advance before the election. Under the Legislature’s current calendar, a special session would be needed for the bill to receive a number and be scheduled for a public hearing. Democratic leaders have called the effort a political stunt, while its Republican backers say they want to start a debate that could continue when the new Legislature convenes in January. Brill said it was “important to start the conversation on this topic.” Data centers have become a prominent issue in Wisconsin politics as communities weigh the facilities’ economic promises against questions about public subsidies, energy use and local impacts. Lawmakers from both parties introduced data center proposals during the last legislative session, but none became law. A Democratic proposal from Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin of Whitefish Bay and Rep. Angela Stroud of Ashland would have required operators to report energy use, encouraged renewable power and required union labor. It received a public hearing but did not advance. A Republican measure that passed the Assembly but stalled in the Senate would have required data centers to pay for their own power development and placed any renewable energy facilities built for them on site. Critics said the on-site requirement could discourage wind and solar projects. The tax exemption itself began as a standalone Republican bill in 2023. At a hearing that June, then-Rep. Shannon Zimmerman argued data centers would meet growing demand for computing and storage, create construction jobs and employ skilled workers. Zimmerman also cited his experience as a technology entrepreneur. Republicans later proposed making it easier for data centers to qualify for tax increment financing districts, which direct some property tax revenue toward infrastructure in designated areas. That bill, introduced in 2025, would have exempted data centers from a limit on the share of a city’s taxable property that can be included in such districts. It did not reach a floor vote. The tax exemption remains in effect as the debate unfolds. With sponsors describing repeal as a starting point for the next Legislature, the policy’s future may depend on whether lawmakers revisit the public costs and benefits of attracting large-scale computing facilities.