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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. + L7 ]& _+ e. y$ B; q
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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. % v. H/ Z+ [% [; @4 V
/ |' J3 G- d* r3 W2 O# _% tMandel 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. 7 P, f# j$ U3 f# j8 i- D
$ U% A0 O' s. E {1 X& B7 _"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. $ c; H2 |% O% ~' w5 H3 E* j7 J
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
8 y! W1 l$ N* e: {2 W! X* C8 ^"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ; F- X0 ?$ D# X' z; `4 x: M9 G" T
y3 a( ~2 t* z" M! B9 wA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. & d8 {- v2 H9 s5 n
! C! U1 S: [: T% G4 V4 s# p"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. * t; }( h0 I3 t) L+ O: E3 J! M
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 0 a! {7 P6 x% l; i- C
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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6 O* A2 j! @. \+ `: g" g8 e"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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' G8 c8 E/ p- ^! T; m. F0 ^Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ' K( j& q* t5 C0 S
1 }, `4 n% r( F9 C/ b3 AHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program.
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. : C' K' _& Y9 F0 r% |7 K2 e- i9 H# n
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He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city.
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2 o( p$ E( l* ?9 m% b, [- k5 Z"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." , M [% U# Q+ C: E8 c9 S
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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+ L K- r/ |9 N7 _- MThe 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. $ a& T) F! _* S
/ C4 ]: i" ?- N$ H bTax 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
