Microsoft is constructing a 900-acre hyperscale facility in St. Joseph County, Indiana, while a coalition of churches and community groups has asked the company to contribute a small percentage of the project’s costs. The request, framed as a “Fair Share Agreement,” has not been answered, and Microsoft has not issued a public statement since receiving the proposal.
State policies allow large technology firms to purchase data-center equipment without the 7 percent sales tax, a waiver that could apply to billions of dollars in projected spending. Analysts estimate that the exemption could forego up to nine hundred million dollars in revenue that would otherwise support state programs, and the tax break may remain in effect for half a century.
We Make Indiana, a nonpartisan alliance of roughly twenty-five congregations and civic groups, has spent months highlighting urgent local needs such as health care, child care, elder care, transportation, and affordable housing. The group reports that a Microsoft liaison offered only a one-time pool of up to one million dollars for nonprofits, a sum the coalition says does not reflect the scale of tax savings or profit gains from the facility.
The coalition notes that Microsoft’s approach mirrors that of other data-center developers. For example, Amazon has provided one-off grants in the hundreds of thousands to a limited number of local charities, a practice that community leaders view as insufficient given the fiscal advantages granted to these companies.
In May, We Make Indiana submitted a detailed proposal urging Microsoft to negotiate a binding arrangement that would earmark a modest share of annual operating costs for a community fund. The plan calls for an independent board to oversee disbursements aimed at mitigating social and environmental impacts of the roughly one-billion-dollar project, with contributions continuing through construction and operation phases.
The request aligns with broader legislative efforts to secure community benefits from data-center projects. Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced a national sovereign-wealth-fund concept that would compel AI firms to contribute trillions to public programs, while a Pennsylvania bill, the Data Center Fair Share Act, would require developers to allocate at least ten percent of project costs to a community-benefit fund covering workforce development, infrastructure, and housing.
We Make Indiana argues that even a one-percent share could generate thirty to forty million dollars each year for local initiatives, a figure that would markedly improve services in South Bend. “It’s kind of like asking Microsoft to help us solve our challenges when the state has abandoned us,” a spokesperson told Ars, adding that the community hopes Microsoft will demonstrate leadership in responsible data-center development.