Yes… but will it pay any taxes?
A data center may be built on an industrial estate in Winschoten in the east of the province of Groningen, with the tech giant (and seriel tax avoider) Google and the municipality of Oldambt having co-signed the plans, reports RTV Noord.
That will be Google’s second data center in the province of Groningen, the first is in Eemshaven in the north. Google has bought the land to build a new data center when more capacity is needed.
Google says it is not yet one hundred percent sure when it will build a data center. “We have bought land of 15 hectares in order to have the possibility to develop a data center on this in the future.” According to a spokesperson, it is not the case that construction of the center is currently being started. .
The company continues: “We will soon start the permitting procedures so that if we decide to build on this, we will have all the necessary permits from the local authorities.”
Google explains why it is reluctant: ‘We are still busy in the Eemshaven and have just opened a data center in Middenmeer. We still have sufficient capacity there. That is why we do not immediately start building in Winschoten. If we notice that the capacity becomes insufficient, we will at least have the option of realizing a data center in Winschoten.’
Image by İsmail Enes Ayhan on Unsplash
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