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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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/ c" E( X# f% o: d. k1 m' TEdmontonians 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.
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. ) H$ y- P# P: ^- a
% `5 v+ g4 H5 K9 b2 c+ E: lCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates5 y3 e# I- E: w1 _$ J
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ; j" W" I0 r* N, u
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 1 E$ z9 J! ~+ Z% ^1 i# X
' u0 c. u0 l h"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.
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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. / P/ h' ?2 ~. X7 c$ `$ K* T/ X. ^" N
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 3 k% c! [ Y! X8 G" q# G' I
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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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) ^2 H; p7 Y+ P0 K' b& _ m. i"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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, [" m) [0 w" A' a8 tMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. $ F4 V* L' y1 x& E
) A# m1 T, d8 A) yHowever, 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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& {) y( f% p* b3 e Q4 CScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. $ F# |6 D/ ~% X* s' P$ z& E
/ L6 F) j1 L* z+ vHe 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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: Q$ P# }5 r+ Y; v" R% c"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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0 o* ~* N: ~1 ?: P/ z# l) ~& q- @"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. ' O2 V+ k a3 i) q( P4 ~8 c7 J/ o
0 n% T. T# b5 C5 [8 r dThe 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. % ^# o9 G' {% C7 B/ A0 M4 f2 |
, ?& P2 r' V5 p( H4 k. |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
