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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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9 ?0 f; g1 L% N9 \# ?0 t- EThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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$ r: F7 e7 _: IEdmontonians 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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1 J; c- ^ Z8 o# J4 H5 t' iMandel 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. + o; s* f/ O! J$ g: h5 t
^2 x9 V) U% g$ s+ O+ b"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$ y) `; i0 t/ |, {" q: u
"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 $200 a year.
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* T) U# B% C! t: p# l! H- ~"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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; y Q; g7 `# i8 h' @6 Z$ wCoun. 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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The draft budget does not come out until November. / A) v+ ^8 ]) X0 }
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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.
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1 h; n9 K5 r" @( |4 A"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." $ I5 H. a# k# o; W7 k) Y
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 0 C4 s$ C0 Q: `/ Y
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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. / o9 Y; I/ b7 r
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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. ) \' U- Q Z, R) c" R
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. " ?9 k3 U. @- |- r! r
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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. $ p8 j: x. D, x6 D; `: O- t6 x8 Y
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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." ' R* ]5 ?. t1 p
* i9 J. U( T; \- O5 lThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. * v0 j% P1 Z% V! g
; ? v, z* A/ L' i: uThe 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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% [ H) e' B# D( n* d0 OTax 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
