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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike1 ?$ L/ E, r. d. X% o
- B0 p! _. [' `9 F1 h' RThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. " k0 ~" [0 j9 x+ ?0 u a% M# ^7 M( 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.
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4 h: ?4 y+ O0 J9 n. X% SMandel 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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# j; I# U/ E( L' r, U, ]"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. ' e: N7 H0 \1 F, j( ^# K u7 f# L
9 B, v/ q# Y7 n5 P6 dCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates$ X; L. e/ u. Z. G" q, W) c
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ) k5 s0 g4 c, ^3 Z8 L
2 W! B$ N0 v% qA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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, Q9 D; P9 m0 ^1 H' ]% K9 m$ ~8 vCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. " p* Z& q8 Z9 h5 p, t! J) `
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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.
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( q9 f3 E* U" G5 o- @"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." : s* U" [/ P8 ^( a3 f; a: G
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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% g( L" K9 f( e$ P/ EHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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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. , F: n+ F9 a4 h
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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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" W7 d5 R T# a, p5 c/ m* r7 JHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 5 P4 |! s1 G5 g9 z: j9 H" e, r
" { o/ @8 Y4 _ E- y& e5 N"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ; }- ^% a! y, e' ~$ Z5 u
3 N b" n: p: p/ G5 c"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. ( i, [; O- L8 }" d: `7 K
, k8 K j9 e$ L" O+ @3 B' r% kThe 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
