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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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3 w/ i. _0 M! ~/ Y# pThink 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. ! `5 v6 X$ j7 z! `7 V T( m8 u
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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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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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0 n* |/ y; x! I# F( S( y- [+ ]City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
3 S) |5 O* A' z4 i"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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& Q0 y. a4 G9 F2 NA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 8 b6 X. h( I: z: z9 ?
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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" N* ]! {) r- t- Y0 R2 K. jCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. ' |! O7 z( U- P4 ?5 p4 n
* p# i/ u( T! I' ?1 A"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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; R$ ^5 k: ?( ]# P# s/ [2 e"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 6 v3 D: U3 G+ }6 y) [( F
3 R4 U& O3 ~: `' A: AMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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3 k. E9 _! q) q0 h3 G5 W! }1 VHowever, 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.
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' {7 Z& F2 U S# }9 r( GScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. + N9 z+ i* D! A# u
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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. $ |# f% b1 d4 e; Z. r- [
1 J4 O$ e% }* J% e" M& Q" C z# W"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." ( O% w0 Y' R4 u! ?8 f
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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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( T/ @5 ~" E+ w% FThe 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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0 w% R: S; F# Z" k# I: R( ETax 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
