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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike1 a/ K4 H0 a3 C* }: n. |
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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3 t3 [$ M1 ]: C7 _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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" C3 b2 f- y$ e& H7 n7 E+ LMandel 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. 8 ?- D3 @/ Z: r4 A+ Y2 c7 q1 p
& D% @& S! K, n9 v; `: {City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
5 K( w8 K) g# |/ z8 }; {6 \"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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8 u. [& b' o$ E! |. {, j' q/ ?& RA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 9 v, b; m2 q& _8 U# \
+ G! m" z) C/ R) D"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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2 S! `2 s! e8 x m4 HCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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; _: h; {0 u2 m' E' o5 [The draft budget does not come out until November.
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. ( P7 F5 g5 @) q5 Q
* q' u# U: z% E, S3 J S"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." U9 l9 T9 N+ x" e
: u0 U% K# c9 n7 ?& qMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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6 F$ o% @' M1 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. % H4 k4 Z2 N3 |/ ?, B+ w
3 A7 X" _$ T) B9 Y9 A, |Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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, B \# a& e0 J- d# l$ y5 p" g0 ^( tHe 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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* Q8 c( Z5 N2 P, R. n2 k% c( J"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." : m( _* J6 L N. Z
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. / L% D Y2 W4 B2 [
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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. ; l2 W2 n; g/ B, @+ i
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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
