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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike4 p5 x7 F4 y( }: V. R
6 u) z% B1 e/ BThink 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.
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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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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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4 \! d7 d2 r7 j$ U# FCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
t3 u7 \" z+ U7 H5 G% S& Q4 i( V"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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# S6 } e5 s! n; ]2 q' Q) xA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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Y" C2 r# e) G' N"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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% h5 S8 }- s5 ]; w& ^* e; U( F6 D1 kCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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; q3 V. W" x; e G" d1 I# HThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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! {0 P R) p( K* l6 Q4 Q( c9 |9 F"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. - v D, I* P5 [5 Y% N
5 ~3 ~4 K1 V3 k"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." , J4 [& o& n; j% @! j% u
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 8 F$ T" @ O" X2 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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/ ]* o8 H7 P7 w8 _! ]) ~& i"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. * C8 U; u: K8 Q
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 9 d8 c' ]; ^% k5 M1 n. |* `" Z
8 _! P! A5 D' C: FHe 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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2 p6 v4 d6 Z# O9 N1 _% K"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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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."
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. / ~% [" a8 G5 N, i5 n
6 Y) I( M# Y, ?: j+ C! U- `0 y0 XThe 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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) `- y8 L8 G0 qTax 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
