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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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) {2 c$ [6 ]/ m8 ~/ m: |. l$ cThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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5 k! ~+ z/ `3 u" x" U TEdmontonians 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. ( b0 r% Q; W4 |- Q
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Mandel 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. * \. _% u Z7 _/ P; }- Q
6 x+ f9 x7 U, q+ t& ~: p"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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! \6 l& b, s$ X- i) @" ]* |$ GCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates0 ?6 m l/ {; S r: F* R
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ! W; z q5 M5 W
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. ! c) J5 z. I4 M
" m1 ^, k4 P# `. ]& j6 vCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. % ?8 v, n( v4 j
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The draft budget does not come out until November. " n9 ] R) f4 C2 l
* D( e+ E$ T: p"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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8 E8 s0 ]5 ~5 c"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." \+ V: a1 T. M5 D4 b5 k
! F' P A+ T2 V N5 HMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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" \) E. X6 X; t& Q# Q# nHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program.
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$ \' g$ ?; T& A; c; E6 uScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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4 P$ y" r5 U: Q0 C4 ^# \He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. $ w' f7 h0 q" H1 k
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 0 h5 p! X2 v$ y% F4 d# \: u) M
- s- C6 h2 M" k/ r8 _4 T, u7 U( b# ["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."
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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$ B, k$ B# Q( Z( P( U _: _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. q G2 ^3 X c: p D
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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
