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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.
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! Y) n7 J* r- @- M/ cEdmontonians 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. $ [/ i; V) g5 X) k- w
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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. F8 ^) s* v3 T* i4 }2 `$ g: U9 {+ G
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. , z" h; j! i7 e& c" \
# C9 D% ?! V j) x0 T6 F5 JCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
8 H3 R9 I5 X( R8 h: R; f& C"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. - ~! s' D& l1 E+ @1 A9 p8 K, u! X5 s( c
* ^! Q/ y. I0 H* g% f! L& S5 ] XA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. & x& {1 A, L0 {" c3 x" ] c
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 7 G: ^. Y! j7 O1 w# L
7 W# s1 x) o/ G; }) ACoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. ) y. p5 [6 ^$ ?* i
/ D% |9 b) e2 \, uThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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% F) X! ^$ b. A"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. 2 r- H8 s' s. v- m! q+ a# M; H- d7 h
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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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2 g4 A' @) E4 I0 j. S- a( s0 m# X"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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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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" [7 e/ E1 ^$ u/ a/ ~' L"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. " W4 e: _7 b" J9 a- _+ O, i
, M# F( J* y# `! A" X7 i"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. ) r4 ?1 l, \# P: }2 l+ C! N
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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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% d3 F' m% l4 L9 ITax 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
