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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike" Z. Y* t5 u8 o/ W. t+ A! }
/ V* w6 G' E3 {4 I9 o6 d9 sThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. ! D( I: o8 ]8 Q6 `
6 }4 d- d+ y# V2 o1 ?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.
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4 m" t! i6 [7 o( m) P( Z4 ~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. 2 U1 h) A6 [" H! U$ z* p+ r- l
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates0 ? r) ?; Y8 r- K) r5 S/ M
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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% f; m r/ M6 w1 n h( E* o; Z- ?0 iA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. $ Q$ R% M7 n" [9 u) Z
7 n6 l- X. |% e8 q$ F0 D"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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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 0 ], }/ u* m1 i. J% E
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 3 k' q. H; K0 t0 T$ ^, O
. G( P- Y3 H9 ~" `"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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# U; `1 R5 E& W$ R& c3 J2 S* B"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. 9 F$ U, p& s. s% l! @8 V9 ~
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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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"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. ' S$ z m/ Q0 @% W) k
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 6 q" O: r( S, B8 L. v- f; v& G
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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.
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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." / n% K2 }8 q6 q" i4 D
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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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. . h7 c1 X/ `0 j: q0 i- ^
/ Y0 b3 Q2 d. l" q7 r- D5 tTax 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
