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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike! f1 Y2 o y( G
$ ?5 F. w6 |) |) Y' U' uThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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( Y7 \" ]" o) B6 A. r: SEdmontonians 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. 9 L. ~8 N; ]9 C+ \5 B+ s
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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. + y7 p( T e% d
" J& i# T# L7 ]& ^) w- |5 t% Y7 k9 @% i"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. # n2 r# Z% O. r7 Z+ w# u) m
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates" a8 B# C/ I+ c9 g6 V, |
"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 $200 a year. 0 J R! B, _5 Z" `& k! N, J
* N2 O5 v9 _+ J"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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- s" B) O2 D1 C6 x* k. b1 cCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 4 e+ H y+ a7 Z
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The draft budget does not come out until November. , R- i3 \% d* ^. i, h% i
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. # b* j4 O% M& {/ p3 O1 }2 R
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." + V( x! b% s4 D
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. % s& g0 y0 P, n8 l+ ]
' g% z* N$ p/ e$ K: }) n"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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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ) [/ ^. F! {1 K
; ]9 c2 J) E% p5 \0 e/ vHe 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. % ~6 [- p ~1 `
/ L# J8 T/ u* s1 S"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." : i/ z$ ?7 u7 [3 B
7 v2 y) L. U+ I3 B- n) L+ P6 _. YThe 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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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
