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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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5 n& T& G( n$ g$ b" ]4 |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. 3 O4 `2 T0 K% N, X- o
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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. ( R5 |* k! G& ]) Y& I1 s
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. ( M2 E% |8 e+ E( m4 Y
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
* H0 `* P$ r- I* \"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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1 i G( h) y b! p/ S. a$ b8 SA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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( f5 D1 Q M9 S"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 7 m6 Z4 D* {) M6 p% I* N" _) L
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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6 L$ h6 h+ |) o"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."
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4 r0 I- y- ^" ZMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. / m, V* J& |. V& 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. / z6 u/ d( o- g- f8 F
2 I) h z9 E. t7 Y9 O"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 2 s- t, s2 O* V5 M* U4 x! g: I
+ Z l8 B' i% l- AScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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/ Y+ j5 c1 f, Y5 Y a. i; e( Y! LHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 5 S/ r6 P5 K- ], l2 P! Z2 D
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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." ' E" t8 V2 M; b4 Y" m; \
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. & W' z! h% x( M) W" Y4 t" K, }
7 z& z7 y: B* s3 A5 ?6 s* U& 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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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
