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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike% q7 m! G* r( | n8 f& L3 ]1 `
- S w. r" \, {) f7 sThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. " I$ j* d; u2 b( W4 N+ ^/ R, }
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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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% A% e5 H7 V$ H9 ~0 Q6 [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.
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/ F1 j3 S7 V8 @2 P; }"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. $ ?4 p3 R4 V$ ]& H
2 [% ?& S0 Y }City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates- I0 j5 Q0 ^; w* O4 T# a
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. % e9 U. J; r, V6 S' Y" b& ^
. z( z6 k+ k/ HA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. ! M# x- A, M7 U O$ Y) P5 }4 G
7 E8 b, |: J, J"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. ( _9 i9 Z% M) q l
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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. ' {9 R) N$ F6 S# _
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 4 G5 r; F; F1 x# v* H' q6 J# i; g
2 y: ] @. n8 L"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. 5 r! O; B4 a7 o6 G, j" H9 b
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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9 x% G% a' {( v1 O" x: \Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ) b+ g2 H; Z+ a& }. }$ I; S3 O+ ^
/ A+ U, M. K4 O6 `6 aHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 2 N, i6 Q9 {% B& m5 W2 w! h1 i7 ^
. |8 w2 s# }: |9 R8 L"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. . B f! |* b) v3 y' |6 M1 E
: h' N0 \) C) fScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 7 _# d, K. V! K
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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. # H+ Z0 N" K' u+ B: `
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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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+ I% W, K0 C2 V7 BThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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! S6 Z" V9 m# ~: j6 Z) WThe 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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2 v$ r; S/ K$ JTax 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
