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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike/ _! {; Q( a4 o5 t& |4 {
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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- j0 p- o A1 q. m. J8 tEdmontonians 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. - x2 ^) ~5 X$ `: o# D
/ t9 T! C! M' q3 YMandel 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. 1 x% J( t; [- u% ?2 c, y8 D
* B# R4 S v5 R# C' N5 |5 l1 `"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. & T8 y# s6 K. J
* x$ h9 {7 T, V/ R3 kCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
- w/ K1 c0 c+ u" a' S; j"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 4 D$ ]7 ~. s5 ~- X% V; a
! q4 g+ o2 J5 V. \0 c1 rA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 3 W$ U4 l% P6 U8 _ h+ Q V
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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. 8 y& u: O+ j( P# X, q2 F, v
: \3 p' h# Y6 J" `, J* b% g1 t8 }Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. . M* b8 v+ ?. m: W6 [
$ M0 Y$ x6 g0 x: aThe 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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& l# b5 n! E3 N% O"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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; o( a2 P0 q, H4 c2 vHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. ) e+ c9 p, A) T
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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. # h# K1 P) [9 h- F" Q0 i& U
; v' B" V7 v7 MScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. : T6 ~1 I6 W3 }6 U) b0 n. ]
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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. Q' D2 f7 g, ]0 j# N
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 2 O7 q. e5 _6 ~' c$ k
$ P# A+ S8 T$ w& j"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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4 ?; P9 o$ A8 }# k! XThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. ! j8 e2 M, p4 W
4 Q3 k- o7 w, ~8 ^- _0 yThe 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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/ R4 h1 k5 m- t( }5 w# ITax 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
