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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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0 y$ d/ O j4 B6 lThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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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. & z! v' S3 s, z, Q6 ~4 I0 w
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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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* f* i" ~# H7 U"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
5 M- i0 Y8 e5 a! o/ J"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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) d6 ]6 {7 m# Y6 RA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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; X) M! H% n) w( i. a, H"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. b- P; O1 @. J% q4 ]( U
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 7 M* j0 [! x% {# G6 M
' J, j2 U& A8 `/ y$ E"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. 6 ] _7 V G$ P& J9 L
/ P: h: p! X5 |5 e$ D"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 5 M. c" Y3 G: W& s7 h5 u7 `
; l! h9 {; i4 gMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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! R4 R3 b* Z5 h. l, \. B* l7 l IHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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; t+ Z1 C1 R% c5 x( Z1 Q, h% e"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. ' S3 z0 B1 f5 J/ H# W# U8 X4 h
; w/ N/ P% d& u( u) cScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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: k+ y2 d6 T+ ^+ I$ YHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. : ?* K5 Y' r' n- X/ R! @$ Q
. c" L. Y& {7 L7 H6 N7 J* M* b/ {"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. & T% O/ q) Q9 t! q j, g% I
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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." : |7 C- S- T5 }0 S' X. J2 M
# S; z1 o; N7 w5 L% pThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. + i9 d7 b7 s0 d: T3 g/ i( B3 a; n9 F1 C
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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. * U4 f3 v& ]: z) U% o( L7 \
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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
