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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike0 Y S+ ?3 _4 I# Y+ A+ W$ k0 F% `
( V t U& q/ {Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. % F' g. ?( e. i8 }. d3 E' O
9 F' D0 i1 ~2 n6 Y- {) M6 Q0 {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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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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. ^" `6 M. o1 z1 ~, v"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 4 D" c7 ^6 d+ V j2 k8 E/ @
- d+ [5 ]8 W0 ~$ U) S1 `! Y8 c* z6 ZCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
. o4 N( u2 c" P+ d$ {8 z3 q"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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' R( H$ o9 y" ~& I; g# [! d! o"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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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. ) k0 C+ |+ h. v/ s `7 e ^" e
! O* ~; ]8 }* o0 [4 hThe draft budget does not come out until November. $ P$ a; \( h1 o
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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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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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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.
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) R3 S: g9 J \4 E7 {0 w* w"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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/ H$ _, C) n6 O' r5 ^: t' m! 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.
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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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4 j6 L& C% [9 q/ [/ ~* U2 E; g3 d"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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. V+ i& A! O( c1 f' W- I) c- aThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 4 g/ T5 ~2 F4 J$ V/ ~
# C! o* ^% m0 c8 I/ }4 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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' P' `4 V' P7 VTax 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
