In a move to counter public opposition to large data centers, Microsoft has decided to forgo $4.9 million offered by the village of Mount Pleasant as an incentive to develop its large data centers in the village, according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Village officials announced the gesture Monday and said the funds will be redirected toward reducing the property tax levy and for capital projects, including $100,000 for county-wide economic development.
In 2025, Microsoft reported $101.8 billion in profits and reported $35.8 billion in profits in the first quarter of 2026.
“When we announced that we would build a datacenter campus in the Village of Mount Pleasant in 2023, we made it clear that the community should benefit from our presence,” Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft, said in a statement. “We will continue to invest in delivering on that promise with economic opportunity, local careers, tax revenue, and more.”
Microsoft has completed one data center in Mount Pleasant and a second is under construction. The village has approved up to 15 Microsoft data centers, which accommodate artificial intelligence.
