TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Republican candidate vying to be Florida’s next governor has suggested imposing a 50% “sin tax” on OnlyFans incomes.
James Fishback, a hedge fund manager and gubernatorial hopeful, brought up the idea during an interview with Joel Webbon, the host of conservative podcast, NXR Studios.
According to People, Fishback suggested that all OnlyFans creators in Florida should pay 50% to the state on all earnings procured through the online platform. Fisback said the purpose of the tax would be to “disincentivize and deter a behavior,” while calling OnlyFans an “online degeneracy platform.”
“…As Florida governor, I don’t want young women who could otherwise be mothers raising families, rearing children, I don’t want them to be selling their bodies to sick men online. And I don’t want young, impressionable men who have strayed from Christ, who have strayed from our Lord and Savior to be told, and to be drawn into lust, and have their entire brain rewired,” Fishback said on the podcast, per People.
The political candidate added that the money collected through the “sin tax” would fund crisis-pregnancy centers, mental-health initiatives, and education systems. Fishback estimated that the tax could raise $200 million in a recent post to social media.
OnlyFans creator Sophie Rain was among those who criticized Fishback’s proposal after he called her out directly. In her response, as reported by CNN, Rain said, “I would be more than happy to pay that — if multibillion-dollar corporations were also being properly taxed. But surprise! They’re not.”
Late last year, NBC News reported on a 2022 incident involving Fishback’s debate group, Incubate Debate. Per interviews and court records, NBC News found that a Florida school district cut ties with the group after Keinah Fort, a former student worker, accused Fishback of having “a romantic relationship” with her when she was underage at 17. Fort also accused Fishback, who was 27 at the time, of harassment and requested a protective order in court.
Fishback has denied all allegations, telling NBC News, in part, “I have never been arrested, charged, or convicted of any crime.”