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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike6 F" J& X$ j& u; S* y1 u+ Y
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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/ I+ [! N) S( ]' l& [& N9 |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. + N, x/ }$ ~# c" I& n
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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. * g5 m& q) j) s2 q" X8 J' c1 }
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates- H2 v D8 d4 P( N' j
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. & {2 g4 p& B7 v9 G1 ^4 q
e* d8 [) W" t4 @+ uA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. ' N1 z- d* c, u) e3 L2 V
& @9 w, _" ~/ K+ |: R"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 9 C$ Q9 b [5 B* [
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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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- v0 ]) x: }; V& _3 s bThe draft budget does not come out until November. ; u$ Q/ y+ s8 n0 i2 Z
6 y8 d: n! R% F3 X. d1 G! w"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." 7 Z% L/ d; N4 E# z
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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0 a0 T; r/ j# pHowever, 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. $ l: r2 z* j2 {; ]4 j
8 f! N$ Y& }( o. dScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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1 b: t" s2 ~6 M0 d9 ~; S8 THe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 5 `$ r! P/ g w+ }1 Q- g6 ^. 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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"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. % z# M; D6 R4 \
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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. 9 T4 Z( ~$ W) g3 d
) K) s6 A1 P4 Z9 r9 a' l7 KTax 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
