RAYVILLE, La. --An economic analysis suggests Louisiana could forgo more than $3.3 billion in potential tax revenue as part of incentive agreements that helped attract Meta's massive data center project to Richland Parish.
The report, published by Sherwood News, examined a range of tax exemptions and public investments tied to the social media giant's planned campus in the rural northeast Louisiana parish east of Ruston.
When fully completed in 2028, the sprawling data center campus is expected to cover an area larger than Manhattan, making it one of the largest projects of its kind in the country. The development has already generated concerns among some local residents. During a March KTBS 3 report on the ongoing construction, several community members questioned the project's impact on the small parish.
"I think it's stupid because this town is too small," said local store clerk Kim Counts. "Rural farmers, just local people, don't even come into the store anymore because of all these people that are (from) out of town. It makes it hard for the people who actually live here."
According to the analysis, the limited liability company behind the project will not pay sales taxes on the millions — and potentially billions — of dollars' worth of graphics processing units (GPUs) and other high-cost equipment expected to be installed at the facility. The report also states that the local power authority is covering infrastructure and transmission line costs needed to meet the data center's substantial energy demands.
The analysis estimates that the value of the sales tax exemptions alone would be enough to cover the salaries of all Louisiana public school teachers for more than a year.
Construction activity on former farmland set to become Meta's Hyperion campus.
Meta has previously announced that it plans to invest more than $10 billion in the Richland Parish project, describing it as a major long-term investment in digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence technologies.
Officials in Richland Parish were contacted for comment regarding the analysis but did not respond, according to the report.
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