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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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- x. W9 y' q/ dThink 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. 2 a6 q1 f" F4 ~, s9 f
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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. 5 g( a5 f7 r o
& K c+ k6 |2 ["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 estimates3 O( g' w# M4 B0 ]% j
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. / ^+ [ a: t: i$ f' c" Q
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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. % q4 A3 W& s4 i2 C
3 @$ E8 q; c* P% i8 ECoun. 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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The 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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3 O+ [ P& p! ]$ ^"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." , n' C1 `4 j2 A' i) X# q( O
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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# F4 j$ Y; Q3 Q( LHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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* j( S/ L7 W4 r- ~( A9 v3 ^* O+ U"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 9 \ S' B! t- x& I8 I
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ) l+ E# ?8 \% l
, S9 d) G* ^) V- sHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 0 o" Q0 }, {* l7 b
2 p. x2 `8 k0 `) Q0 `4 Q& u7 Z"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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$ l2 @3 Z+ A V0 M/ S9 |"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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8 U( {8 z x. m' V% \The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. * V. ^' M7 g3 \* z2 d6 A
% {/ v. V$ d! f. J: M( r8 UThe 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. ; m2 r3 J5 a8 s$ M: o
9 ~) K7 Q9 H' RTax 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
