Senator David Pocock calls for a 5 per cent tax on big data centres

The independent wants the tax on super intelligence (SI) data centres' local revenue from 1 January 2027. Budget experts say it could raise about $400 million in three years.

Confirmed

Independent senator David Pocock wants a new tax on big data centres. He proposed a 5 per cent tax on super intelligence (SI) data centres' local revenue. Revenue is the money a business earns from sales. It would start on 1 January 2027. Senator Pocock, from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), spoke at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday. Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported the speech. The Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) costs policies for MPs. It said the tax could raise "about $400 million within three years". It said that could grow to $1 billion in the coming decade. The PBO said there is "a high degree of uncertainty" in those numbers. Senator Pocock said foreign data centre companies pay "little to no corporate tax" in Australia. He also claimed more than 1000 big companies pay no company tax. "Here we are bending over backwards for foreign AI companies while ignoring homegrown options available to us," he said. The Government has not yet responded to the plan.