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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.
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5 P5 J$ S# L% V' C6 d: AEdmontonians 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. 6 }& E0 S; P/ Y9 w3 f
. s) F5 O+ d# ?( ZMandel 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. 4 ^( M# h$ `2 T$ y4 `0 j
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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8 q g; N- k& G3 L8 I1 A6 c2 jCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates" k* d% ]( Q6 N
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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+ E# h/ n# t# e1 q6 [0 VA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 0 _* n! @ i- T) K5 D
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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8 b5 e( J' _0 r, L) m6 rCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. / A5 R# r( ^) G2 @. v! [" D
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. . n. ~$ \% ~) c! o
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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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. 0 {( ~$ C2 K& r3 T
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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. 1 q$ G& o8 \4 k4 A
. I& _8 C- p) E# ?/ RScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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) e A4 P7 E# c- A/ ]He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 8 M. c+ _# {5 Y x+ o' s1 T
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ; j' C8 X: S; l( x- }- v \3 ]
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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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3 n7 O2 r; z3 V: Y7 x, wThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. % f& _: g4 Z3 ~2 m
' O" P0 V- R3 M5 dThe 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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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
