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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike( o6 E! b" ~. P& J3 S' _" h9 ~
2 t8 z/ M1 N+ J! y+ IThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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8 C- J$ r6 K, }7 L4 b+ bEdmontonians 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. : `* y( y3 A; ~; `# ^! p
6 i+ U( B# G) M! g, `# F) |, k8 X# mMandel 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. & j! `/ Y. M' m
1 i! M* n& j" @. j$ ^( w"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates7 S6 n/ }- \& s0 ^( ~4 C0 K
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 5 d" M9 H8 X9 Z% ^0 p
, T( J; P( Z0 {9 _( ]3 _8 B& GA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 9 ]( t3 a4 c3 w3 D: s- ~: ^' R
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. & @; B! T* @, J, G0 x* L+ U
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The draft budget does not come out until November. ; w: T) d- K& C7 r+ w9 k
6 g6 p& M4 o( T9 P& D"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. + ?8 R1 k2 P1 t# t! w$ Q. t( [* c
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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: }2 a9 h- P/ tMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. * K6 l5 q/ b' B4 M& d7 I! h
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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. $ T3 s" M& v/ O4 ^# n: \. e' w5 W
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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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! S* X7 W+ {, y- RScott 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.
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& Q2 H5 K3 } H- P"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ; H1 Z( S8 z' y$ L1 ` @
2 f; Y. @5 Y+ b! u) t1 s: F"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. 1 J/ _9 d) B. K4 n
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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. % f# }2 ^; a. s% k
4 L: ^3 n$ k4 s/ H4 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
