"Leadership said its ‘firm as concrete’ in holding to the date. The industry warns it could halt investment in the state."
"RICHMOND, Va.—The Virginia Senate’s Finance and Appropriations Committee approved budget legislation for the coming fiscal year that ends a tax exemption for data centers on January 1.
In Virginia, data centers—critical facilities in Big Tech’s race to develop artificial intelligence—have since 2008 been exempted from paying that state’s retail sales and use tax on their computer equipment, as long as they invest $150 million and create 50 jobs. In 2025, those tax exemptions were worth $1.9 billion to data centers, which equals 2 percent of the state’s $74 billion budget.
Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, chairperson of the Finance and Appropriations Committee, said before Sunday’s vote that it was time for data centers to “pay their fair share.”
“As data centers have expanded, Virginians have become increasingly concerned over subsidizing their energy demands and mitigating their environmental impact,” said Lucas. “We’re asking data centers to pay their fare share in sales tax to help deliver our core services: education, transportation and social services.”"
Charles Paullin reports for Inside Climate News February 23, 2026.
