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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike! n. Z0 m3 U+ _
8 O, t& d# v6 YThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. $ q, G' {' T. a k' W. @! K
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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.
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 1 k" u7 l, s3 d' r4 A! X1 g
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
9 k& f+ z' F' H( K2 u, O5 d"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 7 V9 e$ p. S& Z$ }
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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. P7 i+ Z2 {; j3 T. A! m+ T"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. ) x5 `0 D$ U( l6 a
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 9 @9 w4 J. S& C
& ?' Z' T8 L' YMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 7 }2 e/ I8 h9 O1 O5 u7 l. c
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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. & p0 M' d& u4 v! h8 z
; U3 ~9 W0 a& ]% e. p2 z"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. - r; p1 q- Q4 A1 ?- P
) z( r# h9 A% j, h; y j* M* lScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 1 m* Q- @) z$ p8 x( r. f! z6 l! q
1 M& B7 B" ~$ s3 T9 W! ]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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) `4 v: v6 {$ u"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. % `% c e2 v0 ? t7 ?/ y# J/ b9 G
; O m* q' ]! Z! b2 B% g"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 i% `( A! {1 c: m' R; P
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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
