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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike$ N5 Q0 W) T4 d; E8 o( o( t5 i
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. : ?4 ^: B6 P/ g/ R0 Y
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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. 9 v: K1 f4 R/ X7 b7 l. R4 d. ~
* \; `0 a9 |5 h+ ?( b( C) f, j) UMandel 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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( I4 x; H2 L% t/ y"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 5 P3 Z+ v9 x3 I6 n
. W- g5 | _" ~& r, u7 P! bCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates3 i& Y1 o; {2 f9 a7 |
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 9 m) L ^- T8 B) i9 R0 |2 M
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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( h M- r) H5 F0 U4 e$ w1 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.
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) M" G" h0 A% L5 {" ]4 {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.
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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. ( O4 Y2 p( ?( ~; ?; G$ w, g
( T, X/ f* t# _+ J0 M/ T; c. C1 j% v"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. 6 N2 y5 J% `* ~ s
6 J# ?1 u- Y, g, q' \. e, k8 FHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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& l& G1 Q7 P7 X1 N, s; y"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. % ?! W% n- t% d) Z; u8 L) G
9 w2 }7 l) ? i) u- Z4 rScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 1 e8 P @. c+ R( Y% k5 v
5 }" B' \% q1 `0 S# |6 L, KHe 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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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. + n; q* x5 Q; p, G% ]* n" K
8 m. a* n b' M0 S"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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# H+ \% U$ H3 Q+ q1 K: U$ k& rThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. ' U" j0 F* S3 T- i) i7 K; {
k$ D: S; ?' ?" Q0 vThe 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 M0 A2 }% H9 _7 c0 V' f' \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
