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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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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.
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7 I( q! K$ P2 T" i" OCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
^$ r% U6 p% ]0 w7 {: j"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. : T1 L9 i, I2 A) ~8 D
$ m) U& j! S' J: k5 hA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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; A+ Z- R% e0 h! [2 u"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. " B+ H Q- r; ?- j3 c; w, ~. t
& A( v f) h$ Y3 t. A) x"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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) {2 ]) Q2 T$ [9 J7 S: {* xMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ) F8 b2 L, E+ C0 q! r" R' w
4 a' O; }1 j; E2 bHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. - {. l5 i! ~7 {4 f$ h
' P8 ~) n0 |( p"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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! |$ G: O; t6 a& O6 n. Q5 sScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. $ _1 H! r( B+ n. C( Q( K" 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. ( B9 \/ ~9 }2 w
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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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"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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3 v8 O9 ~ m8 F% P+ M" v& SThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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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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* _6 J7 B* e5 P3 H- NTax 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
