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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. e# K3 w0 m7 w0 B
7 w# ^, C( x- n; H. h* |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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6 L7 Z+ p6 c- E. c# D* O"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. + z* ]3 Z* z$ u) g" \- T
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates% O6 {3 L! I! D* b/ w- V
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 1 b3 H: I1 _. g) a
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. % O- w" m! ^( U% [( \6 B4 n- z
8 x, c: Y- `, e8 A& V/ YCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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+ X0 I3 S* i/ t7 cThe draft budget does not come out until November. ( E$ ^1 D" e. Z t6 E0 w
" l- K: X* A- q8 i& q( u* 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. ' U8 p g3 p) _1 |) N6 `
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." $ e/ M j& B4 w9 T; \- [8 i
; k4 V5 G2 ]4 UMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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5 s2 k3 S& u! L- QHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. ' g8 d4 F* Z8 h/ ]" k2 m
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"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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/ c, b* e, z. H1 V$ ^' o8 p+ n6 K+ m$ b"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 2 }) j, U) w$ _# z! p4 |+ e5 z
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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." M: c7 ~- L( K) x* n# z, [# q
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 6 i" q; u$ T) ^3 N
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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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% y' v' e( c5 B) k" S- t: C! B MTax 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
