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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. 5 V' T5 j$ I7 |
% g0 E, e% g% U* mEdmontonians 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. ( n# p2 x; p5 d6 K9 o: `; j
, L4 a) ]$ {% J7 s; UMandel 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. * r4 y7 m8 x( x0 J. T9 f
, T2 O6 P" W4 J( g; f( `4 `"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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# F- F7 _# k- E4 s- V F+ JCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates5 y' Y0 u: m- W
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ( ]! q& O! m7 |5 g6 H
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. : }# k: j8 P" I( r& X- |) }
0 _& P0 G8 k! @6 `# A"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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) Z& |1 c5 C0 ?$ O; JCoun. 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. \5 F8 d' U9 z, Y. I6 b0 y, @
/ i& a3 W- B: L+ v3 b" W" x0 g8 V"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. , C# g: L3 l; K0 L) d4 y
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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4 x$ s* o0 O9 PMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. # I* H4 H8 u/ m5 E2 o# `
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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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"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 5 z2 I5 `6 c t
% P/ a3 D% r6 _: O* |# ^- l' gScott 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. - m) V' q: s, M$ P; L
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. $ s+ K, L; Z2 t( g- H9 t0 M- ~& Y, o
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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." # K) ~6 p& n7 c! V. ]5 x7 F
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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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( U! f$ O' Q7 J( s0 a3 LThe 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
