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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. 1 D: P7 S* R1 v6 u
- [' z8 @4 {1 NEdmontonians 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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# A/ ]# n5 `6 Z# w- J( T7 z( LMandel 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. 5 u5 `+ Q' I9 o) F
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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$ \% N7 z/ U, u& W% g' O' t( }City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
- x5 z+ D0 A' J2 S5 C"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. " F* T( u- M( i8 f8 J
9 B: Y! P$ r; S# e: }A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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# B2 \- r1 w* Y& N/ V" \& W. MCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 4 D! ?8 r F" e4 W/ N8 L
9 p6 @5 G( s7 c; K+ ]The draft budget does not come out until November.
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# W# V) g! C, R4 N$ q) 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. - T G6 W7 b" E; _& |7 p7 a6 p
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"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.
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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. * j( W* Q# X( n& j
- F" q+ v+ W: ~* y7 j7 Z1 b"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. ) }0 W4 a+ c {0 d. d
4 ?$ u5 k# O; o9 P6 I* k& b* vScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. & ^: G, E9 G: v- Z% e3 p) I
9 h( e. K6 H+ b6 C! D3 t& Z1 k& w" KHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 1 b N* K* U% r* _. ]* }
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"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." 8 u' k3 } U, ]; T& B
* d8 Q6 x- O; O: b- p2 pThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. # E* D( Y8 [9 V1 s3 T$ H# w+ I
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The 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. ( B1 q/ y8 w9 j2 S
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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
