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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike3 g, b: ~- @- A' H
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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. & N! o0 G" [# `
' q5 K+ u7 f% D u/ dMandel 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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6 c8 n6 x# r9 `( r' @' F$ Y6 @"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 8 @/ W8 m1 P" Y0 A* @
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates% Y: R, C! g0 T, f
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. & z) N$ D0 \# |6 ?
# ^/ D- m c) @: KA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. ) Q- T. M8 d5 E3 D
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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+ H6 l% F* {. L, ECoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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7 J& ]; g x' m, G- w! ]1 k% fThe draft budget does not come out until November. ( [6 H8 r$ y: C. ^4 K3 x* k
/ T+ V! K' ]/ m6 A; L5 z"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." ! T. m9 |$ u) p* T. K7 r6 v! A
9 _6 D0 B# w' D9 BMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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6 ]5 a8 o) N' L3 z" `( _# v7 A/ y1 zHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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8 P# p$ b& U7 ?1 B6 i, Z"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. : n. B5 \: G [ c
3 p8 E" `: E* ~' eScott 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. , C. x* p! Y4 y+ b& z Q( Y
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ) n' ^+ u, o8 c# n
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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." ! M, O# \5 a- H( g
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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. " T5 w4 U7 i/ m# V2 j7 H' n$ A
7 q: P& Y* F! uTax 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
