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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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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. : E p) k& v4 ?, B" t' Q7 ?
$ K! |) d& z! t" K; _8 m3 q"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 0 |. H) X+ b( c* G1 N
! b. j( v+ x" U/ ICity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates5 J8 }6 n! q0 V' \2 y9 |
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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% @; R! R% {! ]' LA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. f- i; J" I1 f( E1 Q
T' E; C9 Y+ h9 L9 O6 H: J"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 3 }: o( I6 n' j* T: ]# u4 @
( b6 o5 w. ]* |$ b+ O"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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1 u4 o0 ?6 }' I1 v9 N"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." + z f- @% U7 \/ ~' }$ T
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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9 g$ {/ ^, g% W* BHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. # d6 ^0 E* T2 V& q
; [- r7 z# ?7 D# a/ e"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. - Z+ v. i; U9 }# A2 ^$ r7 ]2 m* g
3 w2 O `; z5 x9 [# V2 CScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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7 B, U6 I& k0 K. L6 ^/ o* AHe 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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6 g% H* x* G1 n" |, X+ l"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. : i3 P$ }& _7 n4 F8 S$ c
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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." / Y5 ~* D# @$ D3 y& J0 @* W
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. ; i1 z" M, ~4 H( y, H
' K# @' X/ p6 |% h) X, T$ n7 |- dThe 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. 7 w) \0 S+ i+ S. ^$ m: u& r) H
$ Y* Q( U8 ?6 s6 t+ 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
