“Do You Want a Tax With That?” from Stateline.org is the latest in a series of articles discussing the effects of a sales tax on services. With so many states struggling to recoup lost revenues, these kinds of proposals are being taken very seriously – even in the most unlikely kinds of service professions.

According to the article, states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania are considering adding sales tax to 180 different services – from pet grooming and dating services to dental and legal. Of course, the proposals are strongly opposed by the business marketplace.

“There is little rhyme or reason why we tax some items or services and wholly exempt others, except that in years past someone lobbied to secure favored treatment for themselves at the expense of others,” says Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell.  Rendell unveiled a sweeping proposal to reduce the basic sales tax from 6 percent to 4 percent, but would apply it to 74 goods and services currently exempted. The package includes personal and business services, including funeral homes, advertising, accounting and plumbing.
 
“If you do your own laundry, the laundry detergent is subject to the sales tax. But if you have your laundry done, it’s sales-tax free,” says Rendell. “This defies logic.”

In the past, some states, including Arkansas, Connecticut, Ohio and Nebraska, levied sales taxes on various services, but these changes were mostly incremental – not on the scale of the proposed changes in Pennsylvania.