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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. # w' L+ r2 ~) j- B7 [' `: p9 ?4 j9 U
& C; Z" p; f" A! r) p3 PEdmontonians 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 Q# v( i0 d- z; X W- Z, j$ q
- F2 j" A4 q3 D$ u1 C+ ^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. R1 @" Q$ {7 n
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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! F# @* ~9 x) K7 p' I& YCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates( s. n, v! V+ s. g4 E) I: T
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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; ?/ }% U$ o; S" C% r! Z7 A% j [A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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' q4 P1 |; U4 N/ w"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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/ H+ E @; c. P# v, Y U) r+ b/ qCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. 8 K9 y4 P6 T9 e& w
8 y" p" W) I% v X2 w3 w"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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7 x1 a, ^1 q- M8 yMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ' y' Q1 N# z6 m2 z" z4 S
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However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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4 b6 | U; _* o1 l- r"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. ' _8 z8 }$ e& f1 O1 ]
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ( n, j, a* H. l. m3 a5 E
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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. ( t" J9 E4 H& J+ W
( _4 m2 Y! ]+ e6 I, S"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 4 u+ Z2 [4 D. X8 F1 ~( h$ T; t
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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." 0 o- S7 k) }9 s" c6 f8 Z: `
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. ( g* w3 }% U/ v% ]7 i
( g# [+ {1 I7 ~2 p0 D3 pThe 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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5 e/ Q9 H- W* W' a, ]" x$ }) ]# sTax 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
