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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.
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' e3 u# E4 T8 P, zEdmontonians 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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& o8 Z4 s; P |/ cMandel 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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"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/ k& A5 e/ l' ?
"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 $200 a year. & D2 u8 x( y+ @0 C5 H- {7 v
% g1 v& R, B" a: b4 C* R"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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; \7 u$ c/ g8 W2 r1 D- Y4 {; lCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 4 s+ `$ T5 B3 v2 I
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 7 {* S# _2 C0 ?& C- E9 K
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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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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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7 ~- u1 V/ Z+ u( W; \# o6 }Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. , o$ |8 c- |5 S/ b
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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. 8 V) I. {/ [+ F# |
* s# n5 q: U; `/ |' t, L"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program.
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Scott 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.
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. / c) ` d$ Q7 F1 M/ |$ i
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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. 2 K8 {7 B% z1 i, P
2 C) @* Y. k& h2 W" x# _& H( [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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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
