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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike- R$ A8 ^ E' T6 {
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. T% w- q s( C$ }6 r& S' X7 {
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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. $ O u1 l+ `" l# V w. i
; A/ z! T, P! E9 H BMandel 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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/ i. z% s6 \3 X& t"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 2 n+ i( e' V5 U* w; A: M9 E2 z
/ Q K/ d1 j+ d4 Y5 }City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
0 w' b! l' d) M9 Y; ?9 X"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. / O" v2 ]* x* {& f+ T4 z" x
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A 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. + Z- V9 i; g. `7 ~& X; q
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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. $ m9 D, m' i9 C7 i' B3 q
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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. ) V% D" c9 X( q2 M; K% |, [
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." * l- u# s. C" S8 k! f0 F2 X; @4 b4 e
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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5 F6 o- J3 @2 s0 J5 KHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. + Y! N: `2 {5 f8 _5 j: ~; _. c
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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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' W: l9 h4 T- @' Y- N: vScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ' W$ ~: a& _4 b
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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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; k5 u4 E+ U8 \9 s- G"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ) ]5 t8 S8 n; D3 L2 S* r
& F9 w9 u f/ s' p {6 |"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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The 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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( o; W G0 x- J5 t. n/ m& sTax 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
