LOS ANGELES/MIAMI—A candidate running for Florida governor in the upcoming election announced his intention to impose a 50 percent "sin" tax on OnlyFans creators if he wins in November.
James Fishback, an investor and a member of a far-right faction of the Republican Party, announced the plan during an interview on a right-wing podcast called NXR Studios, which was released earlier this week.
During the interview, Fishback highlighted that he considered content creators on OnlyFans must pay a "sin" tax for the "sin" of being online sex workers.
"As Florida governor, in year one, I would push for the first-of-its-kind OnlyFans sin tax," said Fishback during the interview. "If you are a so-called OnlyFans creator in Florida, you are going to pay 50 percent to the state on whatever you so-called earn via that online degeneracy platform."
He then explained that a portion of the proceeds from such a proposed levy would go to fund a "czar" for men's mental health. Fishback explained, "Men have been told for far too long that they are guilty of masculinity, that they are guilty of all of society's ills."
Funds raised, Fishback explained further, would be used to fund education, religious nonprofit "crisis pregnancy centers" that try to deter women from having abortions.
In a clear sign of social media trolling, too, Fishback posted to his followers on X, reposting another user who highlighted his OnlyFans tax proposal.
He tagged the very popular Miami-based OnlyFans content creator Sophie Rain, saying, "Hey Sophie Rain, Pay up *or* quit OnlyFans. As Florida Governor, I will not allow a generation of smart and capable young women to sell their bodies online." Rain, known for her viral social media presence and softcore content, responded thereafter.
"Sounds like you subscribed and got buyer's remorse after dropping your annual salary on an OF girl," said Rain in a sarcastic post.
Fishback, son of a Colombian immigrant, is a self-proclaimed Christian nationalist linked to the "groyper" movement. Running to replace outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is stepping aside due to term limits, Fishback has the odds stacked against him.
At this point, the presumptive Republican nominee in the Florida gubernatorial election, currently endorsed by President Donald Trump, is U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds of the state's 19th congressional district, which encompasses Naples, Cape Coral, and other communities along the southern Gulf of Mexico coast.
Outside of the politics at hand, the concept of a sin tax that directly targets content creators' earnings is considered highly discriminatory. Corey Silverstein, an attorney representing adult industry clients, including the parent company of OnlyFans at previous times, told AVN that such an idea is a "pipe dream."
"In comes James Fishback, yet another name on a long list of political extremists who unoriginally have jumped on the adult entertainment industry to impress their conservative voter and donor base," chided Silverstein.
"Mr. Fishback’s plan is not original, as we have recently seen states attempting to abuse taxation to punish the adult industry," he added.
Here, Silverstein refers to new laws and proposals in recent months that seek to beef up existing age verification and content restriction laws with so-called "porn taxes" — often digital use and/or excise taxes.
For example, Alabama was one of the first states in the union to adopt a "porn tax" on every platform that operates in that particular state's digital space.
"In extremist fashion, Mr. Fishback is simply trying to take those efforts to the next level," Silverstein warned, adding, "This is discrimination against lawful businesses."
