Utah residents will get to pay extra for NSA domestic spying

Back in May I told you about a large potential tax bill facing the new NSA datacenter in Utah. Well it looks like the NSA will get a pass on the tax as the Utah legislature looks to provide either a 6 year or permanent exemption to the new energy consumption tax.

According to a report in the Salt Lake Tribune, it seems that the previous Governor of Utah promised the tax exemption while courting the NSA to build their facility in Utah.

Amazingly enough, in light of the recent revelations about how much data the NSA has been collecting and how easily they can retrieve it, no one on either side (the NSA or the government) can find any record of the previous administration’s promise of a 6 year exemption from the tax. But regardless, the state government is going along with the offer.

At this point in time, no one knows when the 6 year exemption starts or if it will be made permanent. It’s up to the state legislature and so far, they aren’t talking about their plans. So in a bit of adding insult to injury, while we all pay the government so they can spend our money to spy on our activities, the good folks of Utah will be subsidizing that spying to the tune of $6 per person (at today’s power costs and current population) for as little as 6 years or potentially for the life of the facility.