(CAPITOL CITY NOW) – A sales tax on services could be a good source of revenue, according to a “policy spotlight” put out by the University of Illinois’ Institute of Government and Public Affairs.

Study co-author David Merriman, a professor of public policy at the university’s Chicago campus, looks at the sales tax numbers in other states.

“Illinois has a more narrow sales tax base than other states,” Merriman said. “Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Wisconsin all have a broader sales tax base than Illinois, and the amount of revenue that they would raise if we just taxed the services that those other states tax would range from about $200 million to $1 billion – quite substantial revenues.”

Gov. JB Pritzker has said he is not in favor of taxing, for example, haircuts and dry cleaning. Previous attempts to implement such sales taxes in Illinois have fizzled.

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