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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.
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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. & e$ t" p! h9 I# h
3 c+ T" m$ J, V+ o- G. I, wMandel 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. 2 O1 E& z1 |8 ^5 l
6 y) C& T& S( N) [0 f" \: `7 F- O"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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0 m/ a; T7 W8 j! z' Z5 D5 UCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
9 | l: r6 j5 H4 Q1 ~"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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3 m# H9 Z8 ^) o3 wA 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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! m2 e( Y6 x) BCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. $ b! i1 C; e/ q+ h2 p' b
1 |( b: M: ^9 L4 \& L6 m/ [2 RThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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; L6 h: k6 W) f9 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." & e, W# J* m. h" v6 Z
, p8 E) V3 d6 W4 B) s% c( |Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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: Q. N" |6 X" ~) S6 AHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. ) \% p/ j5 I5 k8 w" V
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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. 8 ] |0 v. T# E- D f
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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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: Z5 m( D, }0 i. P/ B& A* mHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. & B9 l% ?3 c3 Y) s4 J
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. * P+ t: U5 F# M0 X( x: g3 P) o
( P) Q2 `' z9 g8 N# i- S"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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) d- F) o$ S* M+ V( ^( a tThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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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.
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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
