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> Hyperion will be exempt from state and local sales and use taxes on its data center equipment for the next 20 years, which includes the GPUs that train and de
by dmix 5mo ago
> Hyperion will be exempt from state and local sales and use taxes on its data center equipment for the next 20 years, which includes the GPUs that train and develop AI models. Sherwood News estimated that since the state’s combined state and local sales tax stands at 9.56%, spending the roughly $35 billion for the GPUs of the center will hand the firm about $3.3 billion in tax breaks.
- dietr1ch 5mo agoIf they are willing to spend 35B there's no doubt they could spend 30B without asking the government to reach into the people's wallet. The US needs to do something about lobbying. It seems too late already, but maybe you can get things to improve a bit.
- tt24 5mo agoDo you have evidence that lobbying is what produced this outcome?
- Forgeties79 5mo agoPlease don’t do that.
- pfdietz 5mo agoHow dare he ask for evidence!
- ceejayoz 5mo agoThis poster likes to demand evidence of others (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48135626 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48135626) and bristle when the same standard is applied to them (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48137932 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48137932). Someone else did provide evidence, though: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48153756 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48153756
- Forgeties79 5mo agoIt’s the phrasing/tone. It’s such a red flag. As to his being answered: somebody responding to him in good faith does not suddenly validate what he was doing.
- tt24 5mo agoThere was nothing wrong or offensive with my phrasing.
- ChadNauseam 5mo agoI'm surprised that your comment is dead. Apparently there was evidence (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48153756 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48153756), so I don't see the problem with having asked.
- tt24 5mo agoIt’s surprising to me as well. Such an innocuous question. Don’t fully understand why people found it offensive enough to flag.
- deleted 5mo ago[deleted]
- tt24 5mo agoAsking for evidence of claims is very offensive to those who don’t have any. They feel very strongly about a topic, but it’s entirely based on their various personal experiences. They arrive at the conclusion first, and then try to arrange reality around their opinions.
- Forgeties79 5mo agoWhen people write it that way it’s as useless as going “source?” I hope I don’t have to to explain the problem with that approach to discussion, but I will anyway. It takes no effort and almost always obfuscates the fact that they object but would rather try and put a bunch of burden on the person rather than actually articulate their disagreement. It also gives them the semblance of being “above the fray” and “just asking questions.” It’s this nonsense https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48154443 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48154443 on repeat. It’s plausible deniability. I am very surprised this has to be explained on HN. This is an old debate tactic and one that is frequently, as well as lazily, deployed on the internet. It’s a close cousin to sealioning and usually morphs into it. You are engaging in a tactic that covers your rear, requires no actual expression of opinions or values, and burdens others. It is very unlikely you don’t have an opinion on this subject and yet you are acting like a casual observer with no opinion. If I’m wrong then I bet wrong on otherwise smart money and I apologize for the mistake.
- tt24 5mo agoI very much have an opinion on the subject and never claimed otherwise. My opinion is that lobbying is a nonissue and there’s very little money in politics, and that money doesn’t really impact political outcomes. What makes you think that this is something I’m obscuring?
- Forgeties79 5mo ago> I very much have an opinion on the subject and never claimed otherwise Of course you do. That’s why I said something. Your omission is the problem, you intentionally didn’t say anything. > What makes you think that this is something I’m obscuring? This entire comment chain explains why I think that I don’t know why we’re playing games here - just be straight with people out the gate. Opacity doesn’t facilitate conversation. I know you understand what I’m talking about and I won’t belabor the point further.
- gonzalohm 5mo agoIt's funny that the US still uses the word lobbying. At this point this has been corruption for years now. Corruption in the US is rampant
- dietr1ch 5mo agoYup, lobbying is a made-up integrity-washing concept after all
- ChadNauseam 5mo agoIt's tempting to blame any political outcome you don't like on lobbying. It allows you to believe that almost no one supports the outcome that you don't like, because you can blame it on politicians manage to be bought by a small number of lobbyists. But it might not be the case. Several states (I believe Texas, Georgia, and Indiana) don't charge sales tax to data centers. So from Louisiana's perspective, the alternative to the tax break might not be $3B in tax revenue, but $0 (as Meta would simply build elsewhere). I'm sure they still plan to collect income taxes for the temporary jobs created for the construction of the data center, and of the permanent jobs required to maintain it. If states all worked together, they could plausibly prevent this race to the bottom by agreeing on a universal sales tax minimum, but there are many obstacles to that as well besides some vague sense of "lobbying". You'd want all states to work cooperate on their minimum tax, but every state has a big incentive to break from the cartel and offer lower taxes in exchange for getting all the datacenters built there. There are lobbyists who are working against this, but it's not just meta and google, it's also local utility companies and construction/trade unions (who all want their state to defect and be the one to get all the new money and jobs)
- aspenmartin 5mo agoWell said: why does a tax break bother people so much? That feels pretty populist to me: data centers of this magnitude offer a ton of economic benefits to the area and the state, 3.3B in tax breaks are the price to pay to incentivize them to bring the business to the area, which will then provide a net positive financial benefit. I can see plenty of problems with data center construction that should definitely be addressed, but why do you think states offer such huge incentives?
- bombcar 5mo agoDoes Hyperion have to buy GPUs in the state where they deploy them? How does that stuff even work at those scales?