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# Chesterfield proposes using data center revenue to lower car taxes
- URL: https://www.richmonder.org/chesterfield-proposes-using-data-center-revenue-to-lower-car-taxes/
- Published: 2026-08-25T20:37:22.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-25T20:37:22.000Z
- Description: Henrico puts its data center tax money into a fund buoying affordable housing.
- Author: Eleanor Shaw
- Tags: Chesterfield County, #the-bridge

The Chesterfield Board of Supervisors [will vote Wednesday](https://chesterfieldcova.portal.civicclerk.com/event/2029/files/attachment/16505) on a proposal to use tax money collected from data centers to reduce the car tax rate, a move the county says would give residents a direct financial benefit from the facilities.

The current car tax rate in the county is $3.25 for every $100 of assessed value. [According to a county press release](https://www.chesterfield.gov/m/newsflash/home/detail/7508), the data center dollars could reduce it to as low as $1.79 following the full build-out of Google’s three planned campuses.

The decision would impact existing data centers – the county has already indicated that it will not permit any new data center development.

[Chesterfield Board indicates it won’t approve any more data centers in the county“I don’t want any more. We have enough.”![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-1-85b511e6-7378-48ff-b0f9-1526dfd0bf71.png)The RichmonderEleanor Shaw![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_2574-2faccd45-0fed-49ec-9a1a-a1e18e92ac3f.jpeg)](https://www.richmonder.org/chesterfield-board-indicates-it-wont-approve-any-more-data-centers-in-the-county/)

Wednesday’s vote [will come after a public hearing](https://www.chesterfield.gov/m/newsflash/home/detail/7508) addressing concerns surrounding data centers during the board’s evening session. If approved, the ordinance would kick in Jan. 1, 2027 and would apply to all cars, trucks and motorcycles, regardless of value.

Currently, Chesterfield’s tax rate on data centers is 24 cents per $100 of assessed value. For comparison, [Henrico’s was raised](https://www.henricocitizen.com/henrico-supervisors-vote-unanimously-to-require-individual-approval-of-future-hyperscale-data-center-proposals/) from 24 cents to $2.60 per $100 in an effort to slow down the facilities’ development. Henrico has since shuffled this money into a [fund buoying affordable housing](https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/data-centers-affordable-housing-henrico-county/).

Richmond doesn’t have data centers inside city limits.

[Why is Richmond’s car tax so much higher than the counties’?There are four main reasons.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-1-d6ae1936-79f2-4298-a1fb-7986bfb024ff.png)The RichmonderDavid M. Poole![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/thumbnail/Richmonder_Finance_Texture_040825-3-ae632f5c-62b4-4c36-86e2-8c7e96e5f8cd.jpg)](https://www.richmonder.org/why-is-richmonds-car-tax-so-much-higher-than-the-counties/)

Chesterfield’s attractive-to-business rate has been guaranteed for the [three Google campuses](https://www.richmonder.org/google-announces-9-billion-investment-in-virginia-including-a-chesterfield-data-center/#:~:text=Neighboring%20Henrico%20recently,raise%20the%20rate.). These facilities, known as hyperscale data centers, are enormous warehouses filled with thousands of computer servers that store data and power cloud computing and AI services. 

The associated environmental costs have been a lightning rod though, as public opinion has shifted [against data center development](https://www.richmonder.org/googles-chesterfield-data-center-arrives-amid-shifting-opinions-on-the-facilities/). 

[Google’s Chesterfield data centers arrive amid shifting opinions on the facilities“The current board does not have an appetite for any more data centers.”![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-1-08471f3a-daab-4325-a78c-f89ebdb4027f.png)The RichmonderEleanor Shaw![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_1877-1-30b95d0a-b01a-45d6-a540-1aba8b556675.jpg)](https://www.richmonder.org/googles-chesterfield-data-center-arrives-amid-shifting-opinions-on-the-facilities/)

Here’s how other large localities' car tax rates compare, according to a Chesterfield press release:

- Arlington: $5
- Chesapeake: $4.08
- Fairfax: $4.57
- Henrico: $3.35
- Loudoun: $3.09
- Norfolk: $4.33
- Prince William: $3.50
- Richmond: $3.70
- Virginia Beach: $4

*Contact Eleanor Shaw at* [*eshaw@richmonder.org*](mailto:eshaw@richmonder.org)*. She is a Report for America corps member.*