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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike S3 M! m4 Y# n
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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, K6 y* B0 u( P/ G7 @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.
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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. ; ]9 G1 k" q0 O: O3 y
4 m: n8 ]! `5 m; d"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates3 I6 ^8 w/ @& r ^& ?
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ' ?9 b7 m) \) F8 f
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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2 K `7 U! \* h' u"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 8 j3 k# ]$ A7 O w
5 p( y, n9 M8 j+ L% I& BCoun. 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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9 \( l7 o$ v) zThe draft budget does not come out until November. ( \3 s+ N4 ]9 O; q
B7 _( f+ j8 y P: ?3 @: W( ?"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. . V. l% F' a1 Q$ L
; N% D. ]* n* |- C2 G* A+ l$ G, q, i"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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) }* x& q# s+ M' C4 i* SMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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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. / f7 a2 Z# ^' R7 B A: d' U7 H
/ }* S- P" o' c, T# M- {% r0 j"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! i5 v) X# C5 z& N, p6 L% x' rScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 3 O; i+ N, }2 \$ p5 a: e2 h( d
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He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. ' `6 ^" Q! B! ^8 I6 ~8 y3 N0 G
; b! K6 U+ i6 u& ?4 {8 F9 X"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. a0 S/ n7 b6 J- L
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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." 7 ?5 k# n1 g3 I) V! Y8 x) q4 a
# B; d e! e& j, j* y- F/ MThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. ; g" w x, P" J! h* ^
: B4 n% r* I4 G4 j# R3 rThe 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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4 o* n& L! Q! TTax 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
