Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) signaled she is considering new forms of taxation, including the possibility of applying taxes to services such as gym memberships and streaming platforms, as state leaders weigh revenue options.
During an interview with a local reporter, Spanberger was asked whether she would support legislation that could impose new taxes on services like streaming platforms, dry cleaning, or other consumer expenses if such a bill reached her desk. While she did not commit to backing any specific proposal, Spanberger made clear she would not dismiss the idea outright.
“I think every idea, as long as it’s reasonable and makes some amount of sense, should be entertained and should be discussed,” she said.
Her comments come after a wave of proposals earlier this year from Democratic lawmakers in Virginia. Legislators in January floated several tax increases and new levies, including a tax on guns and ammunition, taxes on events and storage facilities, a proposed gym membership tax, a counseling services tax, and additional taxes targeting deliveries from companies like Amazon and FedEx, as well as dry cleaning and home repairs.
Although many of those proposals did not advance, Spanberger’s remarks suggest that similar ideas could resurface in future legislative sessions. Her reference to changing consumer habits also pointed to how lawmakers may justify expanding taxes to services that have traditionally gone untaxed. “Streaming is different,” she said, noting that physical goods like DVDs were historically subject to sales tax.
Spanberger stressed that any final decision would depend on the details of a bill. “Whether I would ever sign a bill is wholly predicated on what is actually in the bill, and how it is outlined,” she said.
The discussion has drawn criticism from former President Donald Trump, who accused Spanberger of increasing the tax burden on residents and businesses and claimed that companies planning to move to Virginia under former Governor Glenn Youngkin are now reconsidering those decisions.
