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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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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. 9 \. d+ M. _# o3 r& L
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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.
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$ Z+ A' ]& ?+ {$ U" K3 Y"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. & R& K: b5 S N& }
# W: B# m$ [2 r1 d) u0 v# W$ b% hCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
, Y4 n6 P3 {7 z, [+ c"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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+ E' q0 O' Q' ^7 N* W! y% }A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. & {, R) x& R; v$ }
, J, J/ ?) K+ W- K" P1 b; f"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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4 {- `( h+ s2 @1 M: Y- dCoun. 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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1 _6 F' P! j6 KThe draft budget does not come out until November. " n6 J7 a* V' [: s7 y2 \$ F9 K
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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. 6 N5 J3 M; k# z
7 ~1 F# S1 s& ?# I, u"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." + K0 W$ x6 l9 s1 y
- g+ J$ h) i/ J5 h' J( w; ^Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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$ q% O/ y w& h+ T7 n9 W$ f2 eHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. / z( B/ {) W6 Y+ M G$ N# y& i9 ~, s. Q
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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. $ w/ E4 c N: g
: c- k. a1 B# `3 zScott 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. ( J, S+ R/ r$ u: {4 W
* ^9 I- z# c$ F, j" ]: H( g"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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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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# S3 \6 W3 [0 z8 q. 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. ) Y+ o3 X* R- G8 V3 B/ A, a& m
n0 H- }( s b/ C; P3 VTax 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
