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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike1 x" f8 m% _+ v) i
2 ], l& Q, d [ \8 NThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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$ F1 S9 ^/ q2 s/ ]/ v$ F( M5 ^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. - T3 x+ o' F5 b6 q) {$ ^! @1 o, V. s7 L
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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" S. i4 }2 D- Y& |
6 _8 x( n) q- n8 Q! v% p! n- T"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. % N; V" @" |% {, F, _+ I4 W
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
& M! M( p5 @7 w, [% l"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 1 S. m, x0 z" F6 r/ b8 ?
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 1 m, B0 w& ^2 A, |3 w; f
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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7 f# E5 Y! N3 y) f( D5 iCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 9 t1 I4 c+ w7 ~' F- I
, E H, \2 u4 A, l9 @/ v- uThe draft budget does not come out until November. + X1 x$ V Q: g8 A2 i- M( S1 ]9 f0 f
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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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/ o2 n8 I; o p6 w& l& q' Y. P"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. $ @$ o. o3 |: \: q# P+ F1 A
* q3 }2 I* }* jHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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5 H I \' o1 U7 i1 m"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 8 n) y3 q* s" G- _" ^( y. v
# n+ N8 c3 q8 a/ a% LScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. : f1 m- ~+ m+ |& l. p4 F
: B) Y* K: g0 Y3 d4 V" N9 k0 fHe 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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! Z8 z9 s* q- c$ W- G# N. j2 z+ S) l"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ; Y) z% R. C8 w0 M8 `
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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."
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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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9 J" M' R- N/ k. a1 o( ]. eThe 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. 8 ~2 N) y- W! ^. z( a
' z( I* o' H2 `& RTax 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
