Mike Sontag, Member, Bass, Berry & Sims PLC/Nashville, Tenn.:

You can go back and look at the problems a state like Florida had when it tried to implement a broad-based services tax that would have covered legal services, accounting services, engineering services and the like. The problem was that it was so difficult to enforce. Where do you site the service?

When I think about the number of states I'm in during the year on the different cases, it would be so difficult to figure it out. Do I source it based on the state where I do the work? Do I source it based on the state where the client is from? How do I determine which hours get sourced where? Florida found it too difficult to administer and just gave up.

I understand the need to raise revenues, but if you're going to raise sales tax, why not just raise the rate on known items that are already taxable or on services like repairs or installation, where there is something physically done that can be sourced to a particular place? A broad-based services tax is too hard to administer.