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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike" P, d O! P8 A0 g5 W
1 s/ ?& b5 a" k7 CThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. % Z$ s0 H+ N9 r* x
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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. 1 I4 U8 g2 X; ?% q
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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. ! e$ Q4 v8 W$ o0 h1 d2 D
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 5 z) Q! g4 }0 I+ N. K
0 T+ I: |3 v' S; C8 cCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
6 c( F0 T' S7 P6 L0 V. G+ E4 _"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 1 p0 m9 {+ `3 Y3 z" H4 W6 _
4 |4 Z) o; |+ @- T) `A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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5 G! B) p( N! U' x- `' _8 U" s0 J; h"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. ! B, j$ O+ C2 { U' h
( k4 ^% H' y* K7 g$ q& {Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. ( B5 F0 x4 i( E/ Y- ]6 e1 e
9 T; T& P0 w8 L/ n7 u wThe 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. , K0 x k8 ]6 o. D( i
$ l- v' `# h( r( x"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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/ f4 @5 l8 K; |' W6 I B( O) fMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 8 R$ B3 D6 a5 I Z8 F6 ~
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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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q K! y3 _! ]* S* g( B/ Q"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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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ! C9 G' @$ M7 u5 U7 @* G
9 \. @0 A' q% Y1 I1 F' |6 t, qHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 7 H1 N# n- \+ f# p
, p, E0 A: ]8 |2 Q) S3 ]"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 2 D' z5 X' I# X% C8 a. M: c8 m
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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." - e3 a; E) `" X
' n. o; z' q+ i* c! ~2 TThe 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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1 m; ^5 t+ t; LTax 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
