(CN) - Google and the state of North Carolina can agree on tax incentives for the construction of an Internet data center without interference from taxpayers, the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled.
Michael Munger, Barbara Howe and Mark Whiteley Cares filed for an injunction to stop Google from receiving tax breaks for its facility in Lenoir, N.C.
The plaintiffs also named Gov. Michael Easley, State Budget Officer David McCoy, state Commerce Secretary James Fain III, and acting revenue secretary James Hinton, as defendants in their 2007 lawsuit.
The trial court said the taxpayers lack standing to pursue constitutional claims of unfair taxation, and Judge Sam Ervin IV affirmed the decision on appeal.
"The mere fact that plaintiffs pay North Carolina income and sales and use tax, without more, does not give them standing to challenge the sales and use tax exemption afforded to eligible Internet data centers," Ervin wrote.
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