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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. 7 l( R5 T4 H5 j2 w% `6 t* u
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. + ]2 I) g" l9 r
+ Q, \2 k1 D; Z) m- M. ECity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates( ~# P* r, z4 \; n
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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1 j) J5 W* C, \A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 9 P: r! c0 l" M: r/ f1 y( F5 s
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 9 q- t; t# e* I$ p1 M
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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. $ Q# g3 N" e& {* h
* v$ o, W" Y5 @The draft budget does not come out until November. ' J# `- A5 A% Y" E" [; I
7 X! {6 P, W* o- w"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. % d% i$ m( Q6 a& u$ b% W: s" f! P: n
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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9 F& b5 U- x! M& z, P" |/ k xMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 4 d) T$ Y- H5 o% G/ M5 M
# X! }# Q8 ~( p6 w- yHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 6 c) D6 \, R/ L
- M {' s2 o0 T1 Q6 @( o0 ~6 M, \"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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) h- e- U$ O& x; n `Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. - B" \" [+ J/ W) p# G5 D/ \% U0 ]' u
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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.
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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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0 J$ _3 W3 m2 X% ]"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." 3 X( O6 s2 k( I" }1 v0 e$ w. `+ n
% Q: p5 X; l) p4 r+ @5 ~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.
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# Z8 c& u6 q5 R. N) j, s5 FTax 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
