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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike( q; Q6 K! h" \5 W% Z) w
0 S" e: u6 t) w, ~4 y3 ]Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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3 T. S6 C. L$ j2 gEdmontonians 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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; `& J$ c; Z( q# H/ b! [3 U. h1 d"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 9 t/ H* X9 ?- O) J
) L* @' r" H+ C: x7 @- d/ wCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates8 R( D6 U# R1 Q: h& z
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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) g6 Y: R$ W3 g3 d& b6 e% rCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. $ {- t, F/ ~9 S# K5 {5 B7 M& p
s' k) E* k F. O( WThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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& z8 X ^3 C/ ?' y- Q I"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. 3 p; J9 t) p0 C5 n8 C
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 4 z# \9 [ z0 ?1 U$ L; S" M
8 h- I& }! \# }/ v4 j6 jMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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" H: I$ j% Z, gHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. * A! J! o& Z9 L# ~, R) a1 r, S
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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. # n; A z+ u) n/ l6 i
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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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He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 1 y. a3 C1 p3 u6 z
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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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6 H) W% n+ S7 [! l0 E# ?! m"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.
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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. % }6 P6 B: E& @0 Y) S
2 S/ o. ]( m* 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
