Va. delegate proposes child opportunity accounts with data center tax money, other revenue

Virginia parents, like parents everywhere, strive to plan for their children’s futures. One Virginia politician is proposing a new way for them to do that, with a plan he says will ensure children born and raised in the commonwealth get financial support for their education and positioned to buy their own homes down the road, funded partially by the state’s booming data center industry. 

In a video posted to X last week, Del. Josh Thomas, D-Prince William, suggested creating opportunity accounts for Virginia children that would start out with a $1000 deposit from the state.  The state would then add an additional $100 a month until the child is 18. That would lead to about $50,000 being set aside for young Virginians to use towards education or housing. Thomas framed opportunity accounts as similar to 529 education savings plans.

The idea is also similar to the recently passed pilot program from the Trump Administration in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that would put $1,000 into accounts for American children that go into low-cost stock investments and then parents may add to the account if they want to. Thomas said not every family can afford to contribute to those accounts and many families are looking for new ways to save money and invest in their children.

“So why not create a program that dives directly to the number one pain point for Americans and Virginians, which is the cost of living,” Thomas said. “It would set up every new adult to be able to either mostly or significantly fund education or completely cover the down payment on a starter home.”

The way Thomas proposed to pay for the accounts is, in part, through state tax revenue from data centers. Over a third of the world’s data centers are housed in Virginia and currently the state provides a significant tax exemption that entices the companies to build their facilities in the commonwealth.

The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission reported the state gave companies a $928-million tax break in fiscal year 2023. Local governments are able to reap the tax revenue rewards while the state is under the current tax incentives that exempt the centers from sales and use taxes that are set to expire in 2035. Data centers are eligible to be exempt from the state sales and use tax for certain computer equipment and software that is purchased or leased if they meet certain investment and job creation standards.

“I’m just someone who has always pushed for data centers to pay their fair share, I think that fair share is in the form of alleviating the pain that ratepayers are going to pick up for more grid infrastructure to support data centers,” Thomas said. “I think it’s also in the rates that they’re gonna pay for just more energy usage and construction as well.”

A new deal or extension of the tax breaks will have to be negotiated years before the sunset is anticipated. Thomas said the entirety of the tax break wouldn’t go away but some of the money they generate for the state could be used to invest in Virginia’s children in a new way. 

“I think a policy like opportunity accounts is the type of creativity that Americans and Virginians are demanding from the Democratic party and so I would love to see something like that happen in Virginia,” Thomas said.

The accounts would only be for children who are born and remain in Virginia until they are 18. If a family moves out of the state then the money is routed back into the fund and the child misses out on the money, Thomas said.

Thomas is in preliminary discussions with fellow lawmakers on where else the money for the opportunity accounts could come from. Should he move forward with the idea it would be filed as a bill for the 2026 General Assembly session that begins in January.

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