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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike$ N5 x7 ~7 y" a8 R
9 E. Q/ y% U1 A2 Z0 h- o7 a5 MThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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$ ?: H% C, j9 O/ x. sEdmontonians 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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- b; w$ b; l) u8 ?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.
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates+ d; l" e; H% V2 r1 _# s9 a+ {
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. * R) I+ E! `3 S2 \- U5 _" l
- h5 P4 u. v8 gA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 6 y( L( b9 i" B9 f4 @9 B
0 f. R% q: f+ \ j* n"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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0 x$ X! W, r' u& }1 e$ QCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. , T* |3 r' M# x
- U8 v8 T3 p# L+ y; JThe draft budget does not come out until November. 1 j3 n8 ^7 o- a+ k+ }
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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. 7 [& ~$ M* w$ P$ J' y
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." ( N% H! k. `0 v
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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.
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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. # E" S1 s1 u! s% |' k: z
# N: m' S. F* B& tScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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j; ?- `( r/ C. h! WHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 6 S" t$ X; j8 A: m% H
2 M% U2 H4 Q. w0 J: T6 Z"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." " m9 k) G8 o5 x* O2 l0 g' C
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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.
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9 G" ~# K" ^2 X! i' e }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
