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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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" Z( d1 }/ m! i; ], }Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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- @. u& y, ]/ U- C8 GEdmontonians 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. - n$ k V, B; U2 f3 @( \0 n7 g' v
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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. : _4 L' ~1 T4 E4 w
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates5 k! a" [9 T$ K: |/ h: T" Z x
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ( A8 d& _& g8 y7 T# z% B7 E8 w
9 N/ v# d. X1 I: [, o0 X: W5 {A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. * Z: U8 y+ L; {. ~7 q8 {
# O4 H7 u% |' M; W9 }"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. - q; f: u. ]4 G& I
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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: w y+ f+ H: E- T8 z6 N2 a! ]4 o"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. 9 e: t4 H' w. ]: l/ U* j
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"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. ) z+ ~: G% ?) k R; K
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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. * \7 @: b( x! t& E, S
$ U, Q- L8 p7 y# [/ K8 vScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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0 ]6 Q1 G$ E& S! w$ B$ XHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. , _3 V* l' J7 [. l+ H
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 0 R0 X; `& M. I* B, K* O
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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." ( n8 c( N6 @( \
6 ~& A1 @( h" c- z" YThe 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
