Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has been making headlines over his signing of HB 1, the GOP anti-rioting bill that garnered much controversy since its drafting stages. However, as he rides out this wave of controversy, Gov. DeSantis will be faced with the mounting stories covering his signing of a $1 billion online sales- tax on consumers that Democrats have been capitalizing on.
Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-49), one of DeSantis' most adamant opposers, recently retweeted a report detailing the surprising sales tax just signed into law:
Just before midnight, DeSantis reveals he’s signed $1 billion tax on consumers https://t.co/j8c53TWxq5 pic.twitter.com/XUeaKlTqlu
— Orlando Sentinel (@orlandosentinel) April 20, 2021
"What’s really frustrating is that we could spend a billion dollars on completely wiping out the Medicaid disability waitlist. We could spend it on giving free pre-K and giving teachers a decent wage, but instead, it’s going towards big business tax breaks," Eskamani further elaborated.
Other critics have been labeling the online tax bill as a "tax increase", in order to make DeSantis look out of touch with his party's convictions, but proponents insist that the mandated collection of taxes and increasing taxes are two very different things.
Senate sponsor, Senator Joe Gruters (R-Sarasota) claimed last month in support of the bill, "We’ve created an unfair competitive advantage for foreign players and out-of-state retailers on the backs of our local retailers," while Democrats feared that a regressive tax plan would hurt Floridians.
Nevertheless, the final draft was approved 93-24 in the House, 27-12 in the Senate, and finally received DeSantis' signature just before his midnight deadline.
