LUCHA Strikes Decisive Blow Against Corporate Giveaways for Billion-Dollar Data Centers, Clawing Back Over $57 Million in Tax Giveaways for Arizona

Arizona’s three-year moratorium on data center tax breaks marks the most aggressive freeze on data center corporate giveaways in the country.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 11, 2026

Press Contact: Cesar Fierros | 602-921-4923 | cesarf@luchaaz.org

PHOENIX — After months of relentless advocacy by LUCHA members, organizers, and community partners, Arizona’s final state budget includes a three-year moratorium on data center tax giveaways, blocking new data centers from accessing one of the state’s most egregious corporate tax breaks and returning an estimated $57 million to Arizona taxpayers.

“Arizona isn’t broke. It’s being robbed,” said Alejandra Gomez, Executive Director of LUCHA. “For years, billion-dollar data centers have benefited from public subsidies while Arizona families were told to accept less: less housing, less healthcare, less food assistance, less heat relief, and fewer basic services. Republicans at the federal and state levels are actively defunding critical programs families depend on, then turning around and claiming there is not enough money to meet our communities’ needs. But LUCHA members and working families refused to accept that lie, and because of their relentless advocacy, data centers will no longer be eligible for this corporate giveaway for the next three years, clawing back more than $57 million for Arizona taxpayers. That money belongs in our communities, not in the pockets of corporations that drain our water, strain our energy grid, and give too little back to the people who keep Arizona running. This moment marks the beginning of the end of taxpayer-funded giveaways for billion-dollar data centers in Arizona.”

The moratorium also blocks Republican-backed efforts to expand special treatment for data centers, including language that would have allowed by-right construction of data centers in industrial zones and a proposed $25 million tax credit for small modular nuclear reactors.

LUCHA has been clear from the beginning: Arizona should fully repeal the data center tax break. While the final budget does not deliver full repeal, the three-year moratorium is a major step toward accountability and a direct result of community organizing, public pressure, testimony, storytelling, and member-led advocacy.

This victory belongs to the community members who showed up, testified, organized, and refused to accept corporate giveaways as inevitable, but let’s be clear: Arizona families deserve full repeal. Data centers should pay what they owe, and every dollar clawed back from corporate giveaways should be invested in housing, healthcare, schools, food assistance, water, and the services families depend on.

LUCHA will continue fighting to fully repeal Arizona’s data center tax break, raise revenue, and build The Arizona We Deserve: a state where public dollars serve working families, not billion-dollar corporations.