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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. 2 X0 q: K" h1 d4 z
( N9 W! F9 ~# h0 M# GMandel 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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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
& Y+ Q; ^. J5 l% S& |"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 8 } O0 s# \9 w4 _
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 7 C ~7 G) f# v( W c0 I. O
0 i! J9 ?, w3 T0 O$ y( [" |"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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3 N6 }- V8 l& Y( fCoun. 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. 3 B* z5 m" }9 t7 k0 a
: j' R4 L- G& x$ A8 `* @, Q"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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0 F1 J: X9 E2 U- Q; AMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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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. 0 \ U6 \4 P) Z) H. k% b0 e. |
# Q% E5 x. {/ q7 ["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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% T! e9 [* ?8 K! h7 d6 eScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 1 q9 }! {7 F# q, B5 B2 r
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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.
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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." & ~( x! n' T' B0 s; S, E& _: R: j2 W
! ^: Y+ u# a" {5 `1 t$ x" y( |The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. & s' A" Q4 E( M. F( J
8 d$ U, m% S# K0 y6 BThe 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. D- c1 h6 ?" a/ D* W' l7 P
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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
