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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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: `; h3 q7 O. D/ cThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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9 s9 {( C6 r4 j4 g! jEdmontonians 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.
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. + z7 x( A' R# B6 c$ I4 n
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
& c; @& A/ L: K4 \"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 9 `3 u2 w" N- e1 ]9 \3 f. X5 d
( c9 Y) D9 R9 h* ~A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 3 n& f: d; {( i9 v
! B* Z6 K4 J( i2 z"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. & W/ E! i9 t% F* L+ U& _1 C
) Z7 r. P3 n6 n. r% N"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 8 N' c: A3 t# H/ S
. D/ N6 t) ^" X6 C# N6 j& kHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 0 S' F" @, w m$ q
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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. : {2 E$ v' o$ y' P
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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0 I4 k" M3 r9 m8 ~7 k5 qHe 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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) {8 b f$ a+ C7 U# z5 n"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."
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) X. N- |% m9 k+ g# M. ]$ NThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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3 X' i4 D: S/ l5 v# x8 O9 J! OThe 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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8 j' S6 L' S& V; FTax 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
