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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. ; _3 }' R _9 S0 X) s, K% s1 ~
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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. . E. U$ T5 B f
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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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7 S- a- o# U: }5 HCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
' p' {- G5 `0 b5 {+ @"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 1 h- ~) @( q: ^1 i# _5 z
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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2 ^; z J; A; K9 n5 }3 a' u"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 1 b, Y; E9 S+ h4 |. a+ ^0 L8 ]
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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/ t X8 f; A, [8 D+ y( ^+ YThe draft budget does not come out until November. 2 U; o1 v/ [0 F
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. - q2 _5 p/ Q1 I
2 V& ?: ]2 x4 ["It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." * o1 R$ X9 I6 F& L4 g' V
`2 N7 h6 o! `. yMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 3 @% b0 @% ]9 V( N# F" K
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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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"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program.
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" M' c+ _0 H6 E% V) Z- K. JScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ; G0 z2 z0 M) D) P# H& i
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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. ( r4 p0 t7 a+ t& ^( f' `8 Q
' W' ]3 [5 s- @9 e; \: W+ k"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ; u4 b$ U; F' E& b5 D, v
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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." % U, k* w' q3 y; }6 B/ ~
" I* R% J: [% @, Q' L: `. T& H0 _The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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! o/ a0 C/ }( Q, M! SThe 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. - e# L8 p+ C# i' W' ?: q
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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
