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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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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. $ M: c, ?7 _8 t0 ]
5 |7 K# ~ T. nMandel 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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. e5 r6 s4 |9 V+ N3 @) f% e/ U" x"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. * u6 F! T/ V# v0 a% u& n. I, Z
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates+ {/ x. ]- n/ l# K6 x+ N
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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/ I b+ H4 m4 J' pA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 2 ?& p J" K* @' @) q' e
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. : ^; e( I, R/ X. O- }3 V; `/ D
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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7 c \2 L4 E/ c9 n"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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8 B' ?- o+ s" d: I8 U- S$ D"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. # }* x, C7 D( t4 o" W. O
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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. % M! D8 y [3 }5 D, Y" y; b
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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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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. . n. l( b( ~' v5 v/ Q1 @
, h. u- r2 |% X% x- ]# ~* U* M"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." . U2 h G: g* u0 ~& N; W! x% ~
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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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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
