r/VirginiaEnvironment

Hanover County’s staff will develop a policy around data centers after supervisors discussed whether to further tax the industry, a subject that’s been widely contested by state lawmakers.

The board’s public hearing on Wednesday had been put off during the annual budget process, but supervisors opted to maintain the existing rate for computer equipment and devices used on data campuses at 45 cents per $100 of assessed value.

South Anna Supervisor Sue Dibble said it would be premature to raise taxes without fully understanding the impact.

“I think this decision, if we made it tonight, would be very worrisome for me, because I just don't feel like we've looked at it deep enough,” Dibble said Wednesday.

Instead, supervisors voted for the community development committee to draft an ordinance around data center development, while the county’s finance committee studies equipment tax rates across the commonwealth.

County staff presented supervisors with a preliminary report in April that shows Hanover's data centers are taxed at a relatively low rate compared to other localities.

r/VirginiaEnvironment

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