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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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! T0 [8 F# }6 E8 Z" j8 I# V+ \2 c+ kThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. 1 T2 z, @/ o* O/ ^" H5 p
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Edmontonians 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. 5 F8 k3 ?! p% P7 I3 |
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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.
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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5 z( g/ P0 ~( [) H9 O+ sCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates" \) u8 C# o5 ~# F4 `7 ?0 r5 T
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. # n5 t6 y5 w/ A8 ?$ J5 D
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. , z- }. j/ @2 a
8 ~( {1 g) r G3 k"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. , Z% J8 g2 X! [+ F
- U W# t8 x7 m* H( p* L) B"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ! i/ u2 q; Q( J& u; G. l
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However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 4 }) @/ d' t' |$ F
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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. / k0 i' q9 g) [- b( O/ H# y" l
/ r" I; g$ L3 ^3 z) h7 q5 _3 K0 KScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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# w( c7 i! Y( Q: R RHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. v9 J! U. N1 |% e, C2 r8 r! U* ~
3 O3 [7 s4 m' X* ~* @5 O"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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"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." $ O% J0 ^( L1 H$ `0 w6 B
5 A* t# a& K9 T" {! iThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. ' @2 g5 G5 A2 E
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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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0 S: h/ m- _% G) \, H# hTax 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
