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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike2 s, U! S+ w8 d
0 E9 R6 Q8 F9 \Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. / d! V1 m) e- Q* I
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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. 9 p0 x( I5 G4 w# [" C# u
! R0 Q. [+ l- `: k7 x"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
: q" z/ s7 K: _"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 0 `" s: v' [" f
9 E2 N1 t$ l/ H) ]7 M9 G+ LA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. , r# g3 V7 X! w4 K
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 7 l; s# j4 j' s, B0 E
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 4 Z% n9 v: q. ? B* g& Y
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. 8 K( s- _% b$ [& e" J! z
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 5 j s7 a! }; h* H1 F$ b
, [" {1 ~% z# b# SMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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6 ~$ W) W5 L3 @* G, V3 T6 pHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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0 B3 s+ z2 A: t& @$ H8 j"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 9 Q, |' i, R- ], P+ k& j6 b
. e$ ?+ x" }' h/ b- r& D, L' eScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 8 [5 D- Q% Q; @- Z% G
5 W, C4 F3 v6 j, \4 DHe 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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3 U. S# N3 b6 K- P" b- y"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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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."
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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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3 u9 V. Q) R9 }- dThe 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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; J/ g, _9 a. K1 ?" Z" kTax 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
