Is Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist of Florida writing checks he can’t pay? He promised on Friday while a guest on “The View” that he would never impose a state income tax in the Sunshine state. He said that the state’s sales tax was already “too high.”
The View host Joy Behar asked Crist whether masses of people were moving to Florida because of its low taxes. Crist responded that the state was able to pay its bills because of a state sales tax, but he said it was too high. He also noted that bills were paid through property taxes. Florida is one of nine states that does not have a state income tax, and it has a sales tax of 6% in most locations.
In New York City, where The View is filmed, the sales tax is 8.875% when you combine both city and state taxes.
After such bold statements on The View, Insider inquired about Crist’s campaign, but they said they did not have anything to say at the moment regarding a tax proposal for Florida.
But in Jacksonville on Wednesday, Crist promised to lower property insurance rates.
Experts are questioning if Crist is elected and moves to lower taxes, he would have likely tapped into the state’s reserves.
DeSantis has celebrated that under his leadership Florida finished the most recent fiscal year in June with a $22 billion surplus. This is true in many states that took in loads of revenue during the pandemic and now have cash because of President Joe Biden’s COVID stimulus.
Before becoming the Democratic nominee for governor, Crist served as a congressman. He resigned after the nomination. He was also the former governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011, though he was a Republican at the time.
DeSantis Campaign Criticizes Crist’s Record as Congressman and Governor
The DeSantis campaign criticized Crist’s comments as well as his record as governor and congressman. “This is simple: Charlie raised taxes as governor, supported a reckless tax-and-spend agenda in Washington, and even said he’d do it again if given the chance,” DeSantis campaign spokeswoman Lindsey Curnutte said. “Charlie can say what he wants, but Floridians can see right through the bottomless pit of lies.”
The DeSantis team highlighted that when Crist was governor the legislature sent him a bill with $2.2 billion in new taxes and fees. They were trying to fix a budget shortfall. There was a tax increase on cigarettes and fee increases for dishing and license plates. They also noted that when Crist was on MSNBC’s “The Ed Show” in 2013, he said “if necessary” he would raise taxes in the future. He was running for governor as a Democrat then too.
DeSantis promised at the end of August that he would bring “by far the biggest tax cuts in the history of the state of Florida” if reelected. On Wednesday of this week, he delivered his proposal that indicated he wanted the legislature to authorize a 50% decrease in toll costs for commuters.
In May, Gov. DeSantis signed a tax holiday bill into law that $1.2 billion in tax breaks on items like diapers and mobile homes. And in April, he signed a bill into law that stripped Disney World of its special tax status. He insisted that Disney would pick up the additional costs and said more legislation is ahead on the matter. This law doesn’t take effect until June of 2023.
The View has invited DeSantis to come on the show but his office turned down the request. His press secretary, Bryan Griffen said the hosts are too biased and he listed comments the hosts made about DeSantis including calling him a “bigot and fascist,” as well as a “negligent, homicidal sociopath,” and accusing him of “coming after Black people.”
Maybe a bit biased.
