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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike d' {; j) M6 \! h6 d. C+ m
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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, V/ s7 G" T& m0 l) B* q$ JEdmontonians 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. * D% G1 f# M! _7 k3 q, u1 C
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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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5 X- {0 t( u9 _0 `7 P1 k% o4 h; F: L6 @"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 3 k7 o* }! c+ ~2 m3 K
9 V; a/ H7 {( RCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates! b* W$ K1 V% L; S# M# ?7 B7 {4 n- n
"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 $200 a year.
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$ ]' e, j9 s2 `* f4 X9 e"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. + ]3 J+ c6 `* D% {
4 x# {! m/ s. {+ |4 p6 N. ^Coun. 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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The draft budget does not come out until November. . {# O: V# d4 C, m' |# |2 N9 t! f& x
6 l1 f8 o; f" j8 _+ b3 f; l"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. ! A0 } W. T! I8 M- \
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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. R4 z; |. i& W6 M" A' C/ B' A0 W
+ E) J3 I5 M+ G) z! M6 _( lHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. % _* r r2 r, r# c5 f7 p
# U4 Z2 I2 M* O5 G"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.
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* @3 x6 K, r2 ]8 X9 KHe 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. r* H- b% b& B
2 P0 B" U* I+ x: l% U7 B/ `"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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/ ^- r7 \/ k j1 p( n0 G0 z& CThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 5 S+ D7 U6 s# G
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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
