It's been said that "In this world nothing can be said for certain, except death and taxes."

In Pennsylvania home of Benjamin Franklin, the Founding Father credited with the quote those two things could collide under Gov. Tom Wolf's bold budget proposal that would broaden the sales tax to include previously exempt items and services, such as caskets, burial vaults and services provided by funeral homes. The construction of memorials, such as grave markers, would also be taxed."We would not be for it," said Shannon Etzweiler, of Etzweiler Family Funeral Service, which has locations in York City and Wrightsville. "We think it would be another burden on our grieving families."The York County Democrat's proposal also calls for increasing the sales tax from 6 percent to 6.6 percent and extending that to currently tax-exempt items and services such as newspapers and magazines, nonprescription drugs and accounting services. The change would generate $1.6 billion.Added costs: The average cost for a funeral in the state is $6,500, said Kathleen Ryan, COO and general counsel for the Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association.That means the added $429 in tax would bring the total cost to $6,929. But that doesn't include the cost for a grave marker.Don Baughman, president of the family-owned Baughman Memorial Works, based in Dover, gave conservative estimates of $1,500 for a single marker and $3,000 for a marker for a couple, such as a husband and wife.With tax included, a single marker would now cost $1,599 and a couple's marker would cost $3,198.That would bring the average cost, including tax, for a funeral up to $8,528 for a single person.People who buy memorials for graveyards are often surprised they don't have to pay sales tax, Baughman said."People say, 'That's the one place that we get a break,'" he said. "I really feel good telling people this is the one time you don't have to pay sales tax."Baughman said the tax could cause people to dial back the amount they'd normally spend on a memorial and could cause an added expense for his business because of the need for additional bookkeeping.Concerns: This isn't the first sales tax expansion proposal that would extend to cover funeral expenses.Ernie Heffner, president of Heffner Funeral and Cremation Care, said the idea was kicked around as part of then-Gov. Ed Rendell's budget proposal in 2010.Republicans also proposed taxing funeral services as part of Senate Bill 76, the property tax elimination bill, which died last session."I don't think there's anyone walking around saying they want to be taxed," Heffner said. "I think everyone needs to take a share in the financial solution, whatever it is."Etzweiler said her main concern is how the proposal affects people who pay for funeral services in advance.Under some plans, a person can make monthly payments, the money from which is held in an account and spent at the time of death, she explained."The tax would be imposed when the money was spent (not saved or deposited into the credit account), based upon the purchase price at that time of the goods/services," said Jeff Sheridan, spokesman for the governor's office.That means a family could be left paying sales tax after the person who had been saving money has died, or the family could scale back on the funeral.Reach Greg Gross at

ggross@yorkdispatch.com.