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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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( E4 S& A; u' e# ~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. 6 a# [: f0 p4 T
V3 k7 Z6 b/ v9 L. IMandel 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. , H; R" c% O) w( [( j
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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* X& S. I) ?1 ^7 H: j/ ^; m
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ( g y5 I7 N* m6 I6 D7 J/ H
4 `1 {* ^& P Z5 j$ b# m3 xA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. ( {* U' G* O, {: s; @
. O( o% C5 f1 S6 ^4 L8 V# R' `"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. ' p3 g. N9 a6 j& h! q; y
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The draft budget does not come out until November. , U1 E3 w3 F' Y4 Q3 c
( w: B7 k3 p. b/ M, W- B/ C1 I"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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r3 H1 C% m# h, z. R; K2 PMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program.
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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, M0 Y8 s# Q+ d5 G: oHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 0 W/ a6 U8 e& q
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. & u' F* d$ E5 Y$ @
- ^. V7 X; G% @" l0 Z9 M"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." . j, R" w6 a* @1 k% A2 w
7 S& _% @1 ^! T: g; q Q6 v) u1 \1 DThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. ) Y6 J' U; }$ l' x
0 Q2 ~' | O) h: GThe 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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$ I j" k$ d3 q3 \6 rTax 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
