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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike7 A% ~* ]; P+ ]" W* N+ ?0 r/ i
4 F' Y2 C8 c9 v; E tThink 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. 4 S2 [$ E% A( z3 b, S! N( w
. L+ l) Z# h! L4 DMandel 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. ( A( t9 S) g* |! B; `1 o( y4 t5 e
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
+ [# X6 F' X/ h t"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ^) [! C+ _4 v0 f% }. G' U
' i1 n9 S$ u: x3 SA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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9 d. N# B5 _. a! ^; V) T) A"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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! ?. ]" B" [* ]) ^5 i( b- VCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. & ?: [2 G- S* k+ K: M" s% t% C
T* r K* F! nThe draft budget does not come out until November. . r1 `) ^( |* J) u) T
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. 1 l! v- R7 ~# U9 d: v6 R* o- N( Q+ i& V
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 5 ]+ x, N* B1 S3 U- q
" F/ m+ Y+ P. k. e* w4 F n"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program.
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. r! r" g! }" @Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 9 j) d; s' ^( }% u; Y( k
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He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. # w x& g% } n+ l0 J; E. `) E- P A
* j) u/ I* p; `8 S" w5 g$ e) ~"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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. R# p- {& R/ X8 q' l5 b9 P"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." 8 F C+ Z9 Y0 W' b# G- T
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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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9 C2 B7 f, R" 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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; t/ L9 h$ \! w7 i0 hTax 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
