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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike& q$ ?! R% _1 a7 I. K2 U0 s
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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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. ! W3 r5 d; G2 I9 y- m$ B9 J$ g
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. . w2 a u4 N5 e1 {) Z
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
$ y; ` B$ f/ a"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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. y4 _7 _% _' JA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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( E ^- v9 U3 ^- B7 `# ^( ?+ ], N' eCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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/ a6 p8 H/ M8 G4 OThe draft budget does not come out until November. , j6 z9 C& A$ v
7 y9 g5 b2 N' f- B5 F$ ~! A9 s2 D"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." / W1 B1 s! |5 @# g
: ^' l+ d$ m* ~. eMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 7 p% F6 Z2 a) k2 c
' h$ ?. W0 x* ^1 N; F: k Y: MHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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$ _. C" X+ L! I4 H. m) W' Z# t# l"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. : |. }. F( ^- B/ x4 Y' z
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 5 m5 Q( l7 d6 {+ A4 w% O0 s( c% V! x
! _( x! ^2 R" \- K6 i# |1 UHe 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.
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+ W' x& o7 K/ D) S- q& p7 @"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." % w- q1 t! q! _ V( K
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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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' d" |6 T* Y0 ]4 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. ( s, `0 m0 }2 b
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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
