Virginia Lawmakers Strike Data Center Tax Deal After Budget Standoff
New electricity consumption tax expected to generate $1.2 billion over two years.
WASHINGTON, June 24, 2026 – Virginia lawmakers approved a new tax on data center electricity consumption Monday.
The measure was included in a roughly $75 billion biennial spending plan approved by the General Assembly, which retained a separate state tax break for data center operators. Under the compromise, operators will pay a new electricity consumption tax of $0.011 per kilowatt-hour, while retaining a sales-and-use tax exemption that Senate lawmakers had proposed ending in 2027, eight years before its scheduled expiration.
