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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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+ g7 _# H5 d; d dEdmontonians 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. ; D. C7 `- U; E. W% d
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 1 o$ ]* n U$ M- _- a& @; l
" I/ @4 W# ?% @. w( H: |2 Z/ LCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates# D5 ^& g( \& J( D/ v. t
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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, O& Y* I$ O& @& D9 p, vA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. . j+ o% T: N$ C
' H+ w/ g! r7 a/ i$ K+ A# Y"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. # M/ I* i' U3 y; b4 I/ y: ]
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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. 1 V' B8 z9 M0 A* H h$ b# b% m( _
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The draft budget does not come out until November. [2 E" b" z, x1 i( |- H) K
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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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- s3 T. m4 M9 L6 j! }/ H"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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; K' T+ R; K8 MHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. * o3 K/ I* K6 g7 g, ^" w1 A
* x3 ~& @2 E* h$ F; n"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. ! h3 y4 {* r" Z
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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. ) Z! U5 i+ Q4 v. Y9 l4 c
. a. |$ D+ e# s8 K8 N4 `"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. % I8 y' h" G4 }
, x& `! A& y5 r1 U6 q8 _"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." `, q0 B3 V0 |+ Y0 |4 G! j1 R6 V5 i
) J! H$ F# c5 J& {2 @+ O2 qThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 2 a7 E* l, H5 `% ~6 w( @. ^
) v4 M" _8 H- M1 N+ s6 _8 OThe 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. 3 |' C) K$ a9 O V3 ~8 C
. k2 r" _1 z$ T/ l- b, 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
