Data centers; sales and use tax exemption, clarifies 'distressed locality,' report.

Sales and use tax exemption for data centers. Reduces the job creation requirement to qualify for the sales and use tax exemption for data centers in a distressed locality from 25 to 15 jobs. Under current law, such data centers must create at least 25 new jobs. The bill also redefines what criteria are used to identify a distressed locality; under the bill, a locality qualifies as distressed if it has an unemployment rate that is greater than the statewide unemployment rate and a poverty rate that exceeds the statewide poverty rate. The bill requires all data centers claiming the exemption to report certain information to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority (the Authority). The Department of Taxation, in collaboration with the Authority, would aggregate and publish such information biennially.