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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. . S L% ~8 Q) V# a) n
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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. 3 L$ i- b% L* f
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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. ' Q& P/ o" E) v+ H1 b( D; w" W
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates5 T. a& @. m; T/ D
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. / e, s/ V, z/ @2 y/ M. d
# { C& m& b/ qA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 7 k8 {+ \; Y0 |* z& J$ T. w% H2 E) R
8 v) }' f/ e9 T# }"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. - |, V6 u h) ^$ b
; u) {# B1 s# [7 `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. " ~7 @# H& p6 C# U7 e
# j8 y! ~1 M/ o% \: Z0 ^"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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2 i) X2 z9 j3 v, F"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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2 z8 E. ~. ^$ P& dMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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! M. A1 c, D0 {4 D# P# SHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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% q3 M( F( n+ Q3 l2 L"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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5 D' L6 c; @8 K2 W1 W& JScott 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. * c" y* s7 o$ Y! y9 X: m8 O
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 9 k$ s. Y9 h4 N/ v- G9 F2 E* g
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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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/ }1 ~& O. {+ x: sThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. ; @* U: A: L1 e1 e1 p- T
# B( G/ f, T* }% ^) p& p8 PThe 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
