Adam Putnam's Political Action Committee rolled out a new ad on Tuesday slamming Ron DeSantis for his sponsorship last year of a national sales tax proposal that would slap a whopping 23 percent on almost every purchase you make, the
Orlando Sentinel reported.
The PAC Florida Grown ad hit DeSantis, currently a U.S. representative, for sponsoring the Fair Tax Act of 2017, which would have replaced income and corporate taxes with a 23-percent national sales tax.
"What would a 23 percent sales tax do to Florida’s economy?" asks the ad now on YouTube, dubbing DeSantis as "D.C. DeSantis."
"If Congressman DeSantis had his way, everything would cost 23 percent more — groceries, gas, home purchases.”
"Congressman DeSantis sponsored legislation to increase sales taxes by 23 percent, hurting families, destroying jobs, devastating tourism. Washington is full of bad ideas and phony politicians. Ron DeSantis and his huge tax increase fit right in," the ad continues.
Putnam, Florida's agriculture commissioner, had been the front-runner in the race to replace current Gov. Rick Scott. A new poll from the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economic Polling Initiative reported that DeSantis has a lead over Putnam in the Republican primary for the Florida governor's race.
Florida's GOP gubernatorial primary is Aug. 28.
The Fair Tax Act of 2017, which has not progressed since it was introduced, according to the website GovTrack, sought to "promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and other taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national sales tax to be administered primarily by the states."