 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike! U9 n. O& F& m
; i4 u* i: I. Y) z+ f
Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. / L( J8 E7 a2 \8 f7 N% j
/ {: a7 C% t5 v7 |+ v- Z( jEdmontonians 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.
# l* H$ a2 f% l* D: c6 S( `9 v/ w- x; o) U
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.
# T* s1 J7 _, V7 M3 C; L
8 M/ D) U9 q+ L% R' _; s( w"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. ' `1 U& O! t# t3 ]; L
& |# H. ~ ]: y" d
City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates) V, D$ I" \9 z" ?$ _0 e, U D$ p
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
$ w. x# U# i9 r$ P9 t% L6 Q( O
: q+ @& Y$ ^: a" ]3 BA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. + {; E2 @& T% j3 w9 `
^: l& W( ]9 ?: m P3 }
"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 5 o+ y$ h* Q8 T4 k( \! t& p
1 K" ]4 u, ?0 B- d1 S* c7 a
Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 6 J$ N2 X. m9 U2 R* @6 ~( k
/ B0 u( H0 z, B0 L" [4 t- H# c4 @The draft budget does not come out until November.
( o3 B% \- F: O$ ?' l. n* c
. l5 s& W; D X; Y"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. $ x& z" _( n! D. s" [
$ f3 e/ n7 b4 ^- a"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
% M+ D1 u% O# ^6 j) u
* X, S+ K' f" j" X; F" _4 x, a) hMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. " L h2 w" V. i1 j5 a: E
2 U0 z; q4 c$ M: x! h) N
However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
0 z9 j6 @" u y
9 [; n, X9 i1 Z6 e! t( Q2 P"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program.
4 W& G. s' |4 ?% M' K: a- k
1 `; @5 H3 B6 n* |+ vScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
+ ~" `) }: A+ b G
# i" P8 `( A7 ^+ G' ?He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. : _4 R6 o/ _2 B' {' R5 P
( {- d9 s3 @% k$ U$ E3 J/ M4 K"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. - i9 i" A+ m4 v7 l+ r
$ }! o. R% j$ X- A( T5 Y4 p
"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." " k1 o* }: E U& c
# t9 f* M" T2 v: R6 EThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
. i# ]7 h3 z, A. X
2 B) t& N1 C1 I5 @* BThe 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. 4 `0 W9 C4 W( [" u/ i( A( v
/ l' M6 W @; g9 \' V6 D- FTax bills will be mailed May 25 and payments are due June 30. |
|
狗仔卡
发表于 2007-5-9 22:25
提升卡
置顶卡
沉默卡
喧嚣卡
变色卡
显身卡
发表于 2007-5-10 11:37
