- Pennsylvania lawmakers voted 197–5 to repeal a $517 million annual data center tax exemption.
- Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet stood to benefit despite earning over $100 billion net income annually.
- Governor Shapiro’s competing GRID standards would tie incentives to environmental and hiring requirements.
A 197–5 vote doesn’t happen in a state legislature — not on tax policy, not on anything. Yet that’s how Pennsylvania’s House handled HB 2198 on June 25, 2026, effectively killing a sales tax exemption headed toward handing Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet half a billion dollars a year by decade’s end. The Senate followed with HB 1667, passing 44–6. When lawmakers from both parties agree that decisively, something has shifted well beyond typical budget arithmetic.
MORE:
https://www.gadgetreview.com/pennsylvania-just-voted-to-pull-the-plug-on-big-techs-517m-tax-break