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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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! W- P- c3 G" T2 S- `Think 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. ; M2 r X" _5 H: T( Q, T
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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. $ B/ M+ P. n/ U( A \% M# r2 ~& y# c4 r
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates. c3 S/ o: k1 F2 z
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. + R, B0 n$ i9 G( l/ u, _8 ]+ B
3 o r6 |4 u. Z( k) @& m8 ZA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. & P& E3 f R9 u" K o6 G" h
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. ( V9 N2 _. R% [0 z$ J' U
( f- f" Y. [4 O: K3 X& `Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. , }; I& \! S7 e5 x$ M) D' k T9 K ~. V
, C. [* X& [: `$ f' eThe draft budget does not come out until November. 0 I( R( o+ [ m* N3 V" g
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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. 0 Q: U: h7 J8 v# J$ }
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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' t" j' V$ [0 M! w" i& O) qMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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# P* ^0 y$ n2 o! W) t% xHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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# Y% B T8 d6 j5 @+ e4 ~. S' _' {"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. ( N( Z/ i* m9 D! v9 \
) b/ q8 ]/ r/ R6 ~* |. YScott 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. * j# V5 v2 ~0 }' J- z4 a: @
6 I; A; L6 @! M# g+ T# j- d"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 2 J p B/ \7 |0 k# T1 u3 X6 e
9 _) E5 {5 }6 V- 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."
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6 t- K7 s2 w4 p4 }& I" Y TThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. , M+ o3 R! Z& B+ L
: [# j/ P }: H) WThe 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. & o& E8 _- _5 E p: E
9 k( D/ e' @: o- D# w% CTax 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
