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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. ( R# n' U8 `4 g2 w) q
/ J9 K" |. k& q+ ?9 E: TEdmontonians 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. . g" i; q ]/ `. c k2 I+ x, E
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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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' C1 l" C% g/ l) s, t7 K"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. , P5 k, g. r; u7 Q) N9 I+ k9 H% K
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
% s, v9 ?* s9 h$ L" z: l- u2 }"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. - a% X9 k% R& ^8 ^9 s1 l
2 _6 ^7 T0 `8 Z6 i( i3 A% nA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 5 ^+ B- ^- y5 l+ i! b+ x2 C
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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. _( M7 ~$ W! Y) G" p* V8 R) A: Y; a2 oThe draft budget does not come out until November. ) a0 g$ z; b3 \8 h# R; h
. l1 }+ l' Z; n( a' N"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. : P0 f' M8 a0 a# s7 r4 ~) B
( q+ L! o5 B) K* K5 @: P"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 1 q! c6 T3 M+ d$ d' l$ _$ o
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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& j, s V1 c/ D' YHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. % `. |9 n- o- d( m
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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. ! W! w( R2 ?2 ~( ]- n
8 x" F) M0 N& {1 g( BScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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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. # b- `8 _: H7 W y4 `
% j1 q) T8 A4 O/ r) e6 m"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. / H' Y$ I! R$ k$ a" d" `
, x5 b' Z% S. ?* i9 B"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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. B6 n/ _ F Y. ?! \3 A5 SThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. & @- q+ U+ }& t+ I% n r
$ [* ]9 |( S2 s$ TThe 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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3 ?, k: l6 w' z' UTax 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
