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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike/ V% Y3 P% v( B5 {" F9 C# V
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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/ Y3 K J' ?( E- c+ M, 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. : h o: `9 E8 R; ?& R) w
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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. 9 J( [& `: d% q+ e. a4 ?) ]
0 F9 L, b; C7 l# y. h5 ?6 T* b: V"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. + H: G5 B7 t" b; w! ?( o( @5 s
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates1 z6 c# {$ [; E+ Y
"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. ! _& @& v* M& a; a( N
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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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1 a) D5 u8 y% [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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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. ) l5 L, v5 u1 l( K/ X
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." * I' c5 r' ]9 }
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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9 f6 t4 I- [8 j0 }7 @: @" \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. : [* n* k1 r& X" t
$ ]& L. E# e: ]* kScott 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.
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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." + e( n2 N: ]) G, M5 U# F
! L4 D, N% D9 \$ R/ U) j7 lThe 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. 4 o8 y/ X4 R" x+ x- _9 \
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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
