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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. 6 u+ F: G4 c5 j! K2 h) _
8 Y' P0 }, Q* s$ |' bEdmontonians 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. # [/ I; v# D! u3 b
% c9 I {) r( GMandel 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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+ w3 ` d7 q2 _"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. % K6 |% u8 S$ |- j
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates1 L. ~6 L9 L4 Y' `( Y
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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8 U. c; y! P% [A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 5 f% y5 B2 m6 r. z
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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. ' K8 T% F; [ \" x5 Y& F0 @, D' i4 i
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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. 8 p Z% V+ j" \( y
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 4 |% w' k+ P% p$ J- E
8 d. S: G1 x7 q+ ^"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. ( N7 W1 l2 F1 I/ `& y" t! y
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." + k% h0 o& g+ \# b( A! y: O5 T
+ |; F' D1 Y6 ]7 h8 f" gMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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5 y- o8 h; v6 p A1 z) cHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. $ a6 h, k0 W1 y9 i( q2 v, D
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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. * z1 ]' R, \/ P B; w; L
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 6 k3 D0 S5 `" G! t! W }3 H. T( P
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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. ; Y, N" F2 M1 L5 T8 Q+ ^; [
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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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1 d( y* \8 M. L; ]2 d! W"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." / G' b5 S, V2 ]7 d1 G5 t' @! |
. i2 a( m1 S. b& X7 g8 Q0 cThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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. F+ G% E1 t- D3 JThe 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. 8 R& M, P: @$ X# n) Q `% p
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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
