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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. % z; I- n9 g$ G( Y# U
* {/ m* V: [$ t1 h2 I- \4 iEdmontonians 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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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. # n5 U% D, ?' d
% z* J X: ] O6 f"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 estimates
& o) N3 V8 X+ L/ u0 r% }' r"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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% m: O1 H0 Y- w7 p" hA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 7 c, T$ G0 X: I" j; G: A
5 X+ L8 p0 x5 g$ nCoun. 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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7 L/ J7 ]6 L. k: q; Q! K5 fThe 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.
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' m& a, l9 ` B k! \# n"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." , ^+ J/ w _6 _. s A
* i1 k; B* R* i2 E' X6 YMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. + K8 P3 Z: o$ R& l7 c% s/ {9 K' q
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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. + L' r8 A6 l% m' S
& [/ X3 W" \1 Q2 k& N"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program.
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7 l( c% c% V5 Y0 a" O8 x9 ~4 |. DScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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5 r& L6 j5 l$ fHe 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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( e; f! _* [# r& y2 V% t"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.
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/ k0 D" U% n& t$ e- d! B0 {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.
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8 F1 k. ]6 J" E0 k4 R+ y# K5 CTax 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
