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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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3 H( M2 Y6 h, V# YThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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. `( W9 ^0 p4 ^# KEdmontonians 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. 7 Y4 d* A s7 V- X z I! b
" }% B9 n1 P0 ?' t3 _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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- Q" m% o' l* X5 o1 F0 r0 vCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates" B4 C. O3 B R4 ]3 \5 d! L# E8 [( a
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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# o3 e- U$ U3 s. s* 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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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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8 P9 E& i K& J W+ dThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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6 [, b1 G' T% ~. O+ Z"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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, m3 y% {; {; A7 _. n"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 2 W1 ], G4 N# W) L" N
# Y* V: C& T- v" x9 lMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. . b, e2 f5 |- N ]$ w; v1 Z
8 b" x6 K" v2 o' z5 N' tHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. # Y, X* t/ ]4 s& m
# H& x2 V' Y- x: C' b8 d; n& `$ y8 s. N"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. - d: q/ t% I- b" ]
7 D3 m, p z/ }" \+ }+ u3 N6 BScott 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. 6 e- N! t$ F$ ?+ a. Q
* _0 u' `6 f& B( Q- ]: N6 D"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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, a( M; Q" L: ]" A; A"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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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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+ x" i: A! K+ I, }( nThe 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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4 k% M- B0 D* a3 w! l8 FTax 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
