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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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4 b& ~. s7 h: V8 F7 [Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. 6 M: j$ K2 X' x! b
( o" s5 S( O$ I! u4 `! ?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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0 t. M" R4 D( KMandel 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 z* o3 H0 l# ~/ L' d/ b
/ n$ _& m O& ^* f, c# V4 ]"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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' ]" j) i+ f& w; o7 `' R% y4 p3 Y( `8 lCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates: a7 L S/ [# n6 G4 [0 M
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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/ O; h( e0 u" O' q$ Q* J6 ^6 B; iA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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6 i! u1 ^( u7 E8 }- ~9 Z/ A"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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; q' L+ N4 {! V9 [( OCoun. 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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: p; D; F! E3 q/ YThe draft budget does not come out until November. ) n: A' o7 f2 B Z" r; [* s
! z9 j( n# ~, @5 q"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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( u) X- c- G" ^8 w: z4 i"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." - Q* O. ~3 o( Z4 r9 D5 f! Q
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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. * G, }& i, _8 ^' \! B4 H
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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.
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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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He 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.
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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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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 5 V6 X3 O" k$ W/ {' i1 ~ F
$ e' ], @: o3 n% O8 C8 n2 @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. ' U6 L; k9 k: e- B4 p5 J
' v6 [+ L* q6 Q4 d R: W" HTax 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
