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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike, Z2 q; M( F& {: q! K* L* y
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. $ @! _. Y/ T0 B, f8 [
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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. ; s7 u4 Y; E8 H/ u
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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. " Z, A; ^7 P8 g" L, _9 P
4 V& a. A$ L! N" F"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$ x b6 G* m3 p; T3 J* ]# A
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 2 r9 C" G; f. d/ \ P. b
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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) M" Y- G9 m7 f2 {) R" U) ^7 p4 @3 W"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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" E! `7 B! ~8 K- h" UCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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1 S0 R$ x( x" ?3 m7 E2 i G4 j) N$ iThe draft budget does not come out until November. $ S* F4 b7 T: F1 w' z7 Y
/ x, k' d1 H- |8 }9 t ^"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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! }9 A' q9 d2 U! P+ ?- t, P"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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9 P a# F. I {- }0 O% z( }Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ) x! z. {6 S. j! R0 I
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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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3 ^ E% c6 H. _5 X" z1 U"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. : G+ o2 `4 X/ ~8 |4 l2 ~: {4 k2 S+ E
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ! z/ |0 d0 C: j
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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. , ^) f( S" l3 e+ e8 K
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 8 ?7 U7 J/ l6 J- `
& @( N) u: t* r- ]7 D! |6 \ W"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." ( ~8 F% e- s1 }2 e+ @; Q/ B
- ]+ t4 ]) N- cThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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! }4 l# J% ^8 V" t4 ?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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6 U5 w- x% y9 d. a( |- U7 |( ^7 ATax 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
