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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. - G# y, S9 v* S1 l. f' Z: O# G# L( Q
* h# |; \$ r# k- @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.
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! P% T4 p$ h. h$ x0 `"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 estimates
$ ?2 M) B4 u4 `) y# i0 t- k"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ' w7 r* B, _1 v, D
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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- s* A, V. a9 ?' O. B) \1 v* Y+ E"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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7 {, `( r: e' W7 m+ N. {1 ACoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. * ^2 ?+ u- d J/ [8 A4 c3 u
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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/ e& N6 P1 {% d1 X7 k"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. 1 F0 ]8 g, U7 I% p* y/ a
4 ^5 T6 ], ~4 }# V: C3 I0 i' G/ u"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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7 W' e3 n$ T, D" L"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. ! M$ H% K8 ^3 ~
! W6 D) J5 J: UScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 8 K6 Y$ e% F- Z* z+ s* x
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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. & ?7 ^2 n: Z: X
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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." 2 ?. H, S6 z) j2 j0 R4 |1 ]* W
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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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. S! ?2 {5 j0 XThe 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
