Loudoun Wants to Rein in the Data Centers Paying Nearly Half Its Local Taxes

Loudoun County's rows of giant concrete boxes are producing one very pretty number.

The Northern Virginia county is counting on its roughly 250 data centers to generate nearly $1.3 billion in tax revenue during fiscal year 2027. About $417 million will come from taxes on the buildings and land, while another $879 million will come from the servers and computer equipment inside them. Combined, the facilities will provide approximately 45 percent of Loudoun’s projected $2.9 billion in local tax revenue.

Four percent of Loudoun’s commercial parcels are carrying nearly half its local tax load. That works for a county budget. Once construction is finished, a data center brings few new workers and no additional students.

Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman Mike Turner said data centers “don’t put kids in our schools” or “cars on our roads.”

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Loudoun estimates it spends four cents supporting a data center for every tax dollar collected. Ordinary commercial property takes about 25 cents from each dollar it generates.

In 2016, Loudoun charged homeowners $1.145 per $100 of assessed value. This year, the rate is 80.5 cents. County officials count 10 straight annual cuts and say Loudoun now has Northern Virginia’s lowest county rate.

The vehicle rate also fell sharply this year, to $3.09 per $100. The county plans to lower it again, to $2.94, in 2027.

Loudoun’s $5.4 billion fiscal year 2027 budget fully funds a $105 million increase requested by the school system, bringing its operating budget to $2.1 billion. Data center revenue has also paid for public safety, roads, bridges, libraries, parks, and recreation facilities without sending the full bill to homeowners.

Eastern Loudoun residents hear the cooling equipment and diesel generators. They see new transmission lines and giant blank walls beside their neighborhoods. The county already has 53 million square feet of the stuff. More are coming.

Algonkian District Supervisor Juli Briskman brought a July motion proposing a moratorium on data centers. She is the bicyclist who flipped off President Trump's motorcade in 2017, got fired for it, and then parlayed the viral moment into a Board of Supervisors seat. Her proposal, if adopted in September, would pause new data center applications, site plans and related substation applications.

Briskman said a pause would give the county time to finish developing stricter standards governing noise, building heights, power infrastructure and where new facilities may be built.

"It is time we take back control of land use decisions in this county."

It is the same argument playing out at every level of Virginia government. In June, Senate Finance Chair Louise Lucas publicly blasted Gov. Abigail Spanberger and House Speaker Don Scott for protecting the industry's tax exemptions, dubbing them "Data Center Diva" and "Amazon Don." The budget standoff nearly pushed Virginia to its first-ever continuing resolution.

There may be good reasons to put the next data center farther away from somebody’s backyard. Pretending the existing ones have been a financial burden is not one of them.

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