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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike4 m. p, v0 D/ _/ R m) o) t
& x* W3 N" W4 G. q/ r) mThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. 4 Z* f4 s* t# Y. b/ ^" k" v
( Z+ x: l$ b& t, o: s4 I" n. a$ yEdmontonians 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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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. 3 f9 N# v1 k3 j9 p8 N/ ]
) C1 j x; s* x F" M% ~"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. & |! D1 i- [5 S @
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
/ f: e5 C& H) S$ M, R; [! g5 H5 p"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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4 y0 z' ~( B; \- X6 zA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. . x: |1 g! i) v/ Z& |2 J: F
$ v4 C, A( n1 I5 f0 K"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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8 A; K; q7 h6 QThe 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.
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! h- R( Q0 _5 Z7 X- t% i9 C: J"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." " _0 U; A v' H: m. I" S, x
( v' P- y5 V/ G! B" u* ^* J' OMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. " H. e7 G+ v; O5 |8 n; k1 t3 X/ N
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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. ; U# u* L/ M$ Z; c$ O
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. f/ q# ]. ^ Z4 n4 d( f9 t( ]% ]
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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.
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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; S. a# g; T& C$ n, n/ {1 T( K"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." . h8 ^0 M" `; U A, a' |
$ J" `. S$ N2 ZThe 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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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
