Hillsboro Data Centers Face New Scrutiny Over Millions in Oregon Tax Breaks

HILLSBORO, Ore. — Occupying more than 430 acres of Hillsboro’s scarce industrial land, Hillsboro social media sites TikTok, Meta, X, and LinkedIn, as well as several other large companies that host data for other companies, have facilities in Hillsboro.

The data centers collectively received more than $80 million in tax breaks this year, despite not being major employers.

But Hillsboro Mayor Beach Pace has now indicated that enterprise zone tax break agreements with data centers that extended into the 2050s, quietly awarded by the city, have been halted until next month, possibly indefinitely.

Oregon data centers have been racing for tax breaks from the Hillsboro City Council under the E-Zone program, administered by Business Oregon, that nominally limits the incentives to five years but has quietly been awarded for decades, and has asked staff to explore all options, including outright refusal to approve applications.

The mayor’s halt of tax breaks stands until the city council meets on June 2 to inspect data centers’ incentives more closely, as the one-year moratorium on data center incentives is due to take effect June 6, effectively halting the approval of new tax breaks for the industry until at least the summer of 2027.