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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike" B: g' e' H2 u1 r$ U# Z
' p& t% T: r& @' _, I8 D9 N) p. FThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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, Q6 v' T2 U2 I5 g" ZEdmontonians 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. 1 z% o9 X2 J% N; D' U: B
+ x4 C" h" u6 _3 w/ e& d* }6 aMandel 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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7 p. x) t* [" y2 ]0 z"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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6 r; ?" g9 p' d9 j+ \1 ^" j0 |City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates0 S9 `7 R3 Y$ C: z7 C2 q8 o& b
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 6 d K8 }/ e$ ^) i
2 p# G1 [4 O* Q" F/ c* WA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. $ i& v; J' [1 ?1 Q! D' v9 ?. A
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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. 5 O- Z4 O/ ]4 X5 h) h; F, U, `
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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. ~. r* y) p1 _; J$ s
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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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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 5 f1 {7 a, e' ^9 C/ d% R
7 ?$ O: g8 H7 R/ ?' mMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ! V$ N3 C3 L! Y
- }8 { Q( ]2 Z/ ]% d4 o. `6 RHowever, 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. . a- d- Y1 t; a
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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9 o. {* F! r) IHe 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."
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% {: z& z' r: D4 `$ _6 FThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. # m9 R: a& d% g. m% r1 I
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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. 2 {$ }5 m# R* w- q
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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
