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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike6 Y# i# T( Y% ]1 B8 G6 p0 }2 w
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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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. ) Z1 s3 e1 S7 a7 x" g, S# [
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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. & C0 i6 I8 A5 y) P+ F% f
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. . C$ M+ H2 @/ V7 q
: Z( E; V( w& F; I% ?. ~$ ?City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates3 R4 }1 \- d/ \ `/ `# O
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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7 _8 |# z! v$ [8 D9 O4 S% dA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. ) ^2 ?" R% V: @( d( u; Z
/ B% ]* b) L$ X4 Y9 T0 VCoun. 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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- v; f( y1 `" SThe draft budget does not come out until November. C8 |: w& w% ?# w9 r* @
) ?5 I1 u- u) }2 u"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. & |# B& I8 V: X/ Z, s& S& S* z1 }+ O
' L' ]4 Q7 b3 l5 Z8 X$ Z, q" O"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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6 L- w! N) H6 v, k6 LMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. / r! z/ b6 X6 `( d) L' B2 @
& N/ C- N1 h" Q. O( _However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. ; p4 h+ R% Q7 K
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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. ; R# E# c6 w6 \) _: y1 n
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ) ]4 O1 ?8 F; t4 ?
5 W6 M( z# h3 c2 k" U$ cHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 4 ]( F6 A! r: b( O
9 s. ~" J6 h* [- [/ r# i8 X/ x"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." . _+ e9 }8 F- r8 S: o
$ V& r% [1 P5 {, S/ @3 mThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. ( j- x" I1 |' G5 {/ R6 _
+ g' q6 s8 v3 x2 ^. m* X) DThe 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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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
