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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. ) \) W1 D" V3 m9 V2 A" Y) i
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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. ; J3 \; X# A" t6 Y
$ E! ^5 T! M7 u2 C" ECity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates: ?2 ?6 K; d! x0 Z7 p1 L
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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9 C. K: C1 p5 M% E$ W* u% F9 VA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 2 V. x' Y; ?& M9 \9 Y
/ m& O6 R$ O/ N- _/ I"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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8 ~$ L4 K8 }6 e' i; [% J+ h' XCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. - i4 t/ C5 |* z# L9 n) `
& @* g: E' ~- G/ g% K! iThe 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. & j( i2 F6 Z* I' M5 x
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 8 L) k2 I5 o0 A
; z2 _- i, a) {' w% x, }( G0 ~Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 0 K+ k: h5 R1 _: ?: T
" q9 U& J- p, q; ]" kHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. : M+ p _' l/ v1 P
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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& r8 f# q: R6 b) o; p3 ]0 f: `
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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$ n' A# C- E& |He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. ( F9 F }/ U% x: O& _( B- H
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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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"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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& t& F3 Y: {' W+ p, RThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 4 p2 s" x; ?6 b6 e4 n: H
; ~; Y1 O$ t0 W; S' v8 y3 _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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8 q, r: y& F# `% Q1 z# n. ^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
