Connecticut auditors fault approval of state's only data center tax break as program stays intact
A state audit finds no record that a required review preceded Connecticut's only data center incentive deal; the 20-to-30-year tax exemptions and host-town agreements remain law.
Data center developers weighing Connecticut still have a state tax exemption lasting 20 to 30 years, but the only deal signed under it has drawn a state audit finding on how it was approved. In a report dated July 29, 2026, covering fiscal years 2023 and 2024, the Auditors of Public Accounts found that the Department of Economic and Community Development (“DECD”) “could not provide documentation to show that the program director reviewed and signed off on the letter of intent” for the one assistance agreement executed under the Qualified Data Centers Incentives Program, the program created by Conn. Gen. Stat. § 32-286.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 32-286; 2026 Conn. Pub. Acts No. 26-122, § 7; State of Conn., Auditors of Public Accounts, Auditors' Report: Department of Economic and Community Development, Fiscal Years Ended June 30, 2023 and 2024 (July 29, 2026)