Both sides take tax wars on the air in race for Giffords seat

By Josh Lederman - 05/21/12 09:43 AM ET

The Democrat and Republican vying to replace former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) took their battle over taxes to the Arizona airwaves, with each side unveiling a new attack ad accusing the other of wanting to raise taxes.

The National Republican Congressional Committee launched its latest ad supporting Jesse Kelly, who almost unseated Giffords in 2010 and won the GOP nomination in April to finish her term. The ad attacks his Democratic opponent, Ron Barber, and cites an unnamed “recent study” that says almost 250,000 jobs could be lost under President Obama’s healthcare reform law.

“Higher taxes and more lost jobs. That’s what we’ll get if we let Ron Barber rubber-stamp the Obama-Pelosi agenda,” says the narrator in NRCC ad.

Barber, who on Sunday secured the endorsement of the Arizona Republic, the state’s largest newspaper, released a new ad calling Kelly’s ideas radical and using footage of Kelly advocating for a 23 percent consumption tax.

“Jesse Kelly: Zero taxes for corporations, a 23 percent sales tax on us. Ron Barber says balance the budget the right way. Cut taxes for the middle class and protect Medicare,” says the narrator.

Kelly’s support for a 23 percent consumption tax was also an issue in his 2010 match-up against Giffords, who employed Barber as her district director until she resigned from the House in January.

In 2010, Giffords accused Kelly of supporting a 23 percent sales tax increase. Kelly called that a lie, arguing that the tax he suggested, dubbed the Fair Tax, would replace federal income taxes. Kelly said the tax would give taxpayers more options and flexibility, but Giffords said shifting to a sales-tax model would disproportionately burden those with lower incomes.

Kelly and Barber will square off in a June special election to finish Giffords’s term. A separate, regular election will take place in the fall for the full term that starts in 2013.

Watch the NRCC ad: