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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike. t6 j& w, i I4 m% R, i
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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; k) E K3 G& g" M% b( |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.
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! ]1 K7 o0 F+ sMandel 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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3 b8 r/ H& R% W0 Q: X"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. - y- C" [. g" [" {' R% S
M1 K; M' Y# ]' V; ?5 DCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates+ [# x, [. h, z& I& B+ ]& M! I
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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; i' M9 S& Q( d8 P) eA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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9 T O% Z& N$ V/ v8 w"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. + j6 n4 P0 y8 w9 V, J' V. d
) E- F2 C- M5 W; X3 g% w9 ?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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- `' _$ E t7 f' g) g8 XThe draft budget does not come out until November. & S+ S$ ~* k$ @0 w4 r. c3 d: f
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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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4 b- K$ T+ P$ Y: A- u"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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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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"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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; f. q7 k: ^) z/ Y6 RScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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6 ^4 P4 i! A3 \3 D; P. ]/ L2 Z6 |He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. $ g0 d3 h' k1 b5 | R) N$ c
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. , T/ R+ e; F: Q6 P
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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."
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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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4 ] D, y6 A. ?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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3 @/ h: [/ P6 c: t5 ^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
