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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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^. w/ l- p& c$ i4 GEdmontonians could face a "scary" tax hike of up to 10% next year, Mayor Stephen Mandel said. That would be the highest property tax increase since the 1980s.
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$ U; c% S7 J% XMandel tossed out the figure yesterday following a presentation by administration that outlined the intense economic pressures the city is facing as a result of Alberta's economic boom. 1 X; i H# [# p: K! v1 y
t& M8 t2 A5 U G: \"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. : x8 K" e2 g i1 v
` K# n9 F& }" y% }City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates ~: T5 B: G9 B, K5 n
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 4 \8 m& I+ M& N# w% s# Y' C x
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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" C! h6 J, E# v6 u7 T"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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/ Y' b4 k6 D' SCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. & n) A# ~; T+ m/ n
: {4 K9 K+ U; i. S9 d D9 @The draft budget does not come out until November.
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." K# V( ^" s% v( P% l& O
6 H+ q; z" S5 B$ h6 E$ {' s& Y; LMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. " W( n- I0 @, H Q+ S# N
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However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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1 A- H2 z' i- f& I) ~ _"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. , s9 [: z1 j+ f- _' [) b
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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; h- d( Q- b( MHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city.
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# f" H) @! i. G1 n3 P"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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) `+ W# L- P5 o# G1 S: M1 j"I don't know what some of these members of council are going to be able to say to some pensioner who got a 2% hike in their pension." , h t. G+ y8 q2 h! O
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. / u8 q4 {$ R5 l t H# L
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The tax on homes will go up higher than average - about 7%. The figures include both municipal tax and the provincial education tax, which the city collects.
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8 y: o" m" z8 o" ^Tax bills will be mailed May 25 and payments are due June 30. |
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发表于 2007-5-9 22:25
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发表于 2007-5-10 11:37
