Lowering Sales Tax Rate & Eliminating Property Tax?

Lawmakers in Indiana are discussing lowering the sales tax rate and eliminating property taxes. Here's the catch though:

They would apply sales tax to services too. By doing so, more tax money could be created, which could actually lower the sales tax rate overall and supplement enough additional monies to eliminate property taxes. So, you could be paying sales tax on everything from your tax preparation invoice to attorney's consultation to doctor's bill for a minor surgery.

It's been said that if the legislature says, "We have a tax deal for you!" that you better run away as quickly as you can. Listening to the sirens can pull you in and make your tax situation worse in the end; however, it would make the tax system more of a "consumption tax" rather than a property tax system. As I've posted before (click here: http://www.magiccoalcity.blogspot.com/), if you think you own property just skip a few property tax payments and see what happens.

Taxing services (along with goods as is the case now) with an overall lower sales tax rate and potentially eliminating property taxes: good or bad? What do you think? Would a consumption tax be more appealing?

And what other ramifications will come with it? For example, it seems even more accountants will be needed to keep track of the service-based businesses that have never had to track sales tax before. Given the demand for accountants is already very high since accounting standards have been increased in the wake of the WorldCom & Enron scandals, combined with the fact that the education requirements for CPAs have increased in the last 8 years or so, will that drive accountant scarcity to new highs?

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This blog post by Chris Wathen was also published in his Linton, Indiana based Greene County Daily World blog entitled, "Riddle Me This".