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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. 0 e$ G9 i; o; G
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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.
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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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m2 Q, s5 ]% Q3 L2 O$ ?8 u"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 1 }/ Z' R( R+ N, u, h. Z& a1 I
# G2 ^, v% c4 j4 ^+ S. o; v: vCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates6 }* n: c. m5 l/ K! I( ^ `
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 5 W T- |! y8 M- V# V
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. Y; [ }/ u9 T4 z4 ~ t6 e
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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+ t/ H. e. X. ]; [" R. wThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." # s. d* A9 _3 e& g+ e. l% K. f, ^
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program.
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1 [% Z, Q4 J5 r3 C$ w2 e7 dScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. m% a7 k9 a/ U7 _3 W% t2 U
/ h* v3 H% a0 |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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L, V* d/ O. O& B2 D" @1 O"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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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." : b/ i" J* W7 R) ~5 A& I" Q
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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
