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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.
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& G# C4 x: R A5 Q# u+ E4 hEdmontonians 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. / P7 K% ~, f: s- e
* I F: d) s& t( qMandel 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. 8 h, N$ A! l: x6 _. Y3 M7 f5 z5 G
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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: B9 }5 o- L2 K7 O( a. y, L3 @City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates( l s4 W0 u! o+ z* d0 \1 m
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ; K5 y* S7 x9 s. p+ O
% W1 [: l/ |. ^ iA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. ( z8 q% E0 G# O/ W3 Y
! Q, ?0 O2 o) G% L. g: u& o"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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! l1 R3 m( M# x. c' E"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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8 H. K* ^ _* `( l* [& F# j"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." ) Q: ~: Y* a3 o1 U
" b, ]& X" Q4 \* T6 I2 tMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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, K) D# ]1 x# m7 jHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 7 |, J. N6 I6 w& v4 g& I
9 K# x+ |1 E* ^- r) f5 nScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 9 Z/ U, m$ n+ W3 Z
9 y/ O( E; s r" [He 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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1 ^" ^0 ^4 M& x! g& k"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. " t7 v& Z' L% i& s5 i# _' x
a$ C; p( _: j$ y, u# k! {2 j"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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8 K# D) P c* ?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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" ^, b/ X& Y9 {2 c; e- J! NTax 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
