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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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+ U: b3 ?/ T% Q1 k% v2 JThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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3 m" t2 I P, e* T" I5 _6 bEdmontonians 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.
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( h- U" }# z: {% \! P& ]: AMandel 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. ' p' _0 p0 j! t) `+ J) r' \+ j M' y' E
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. / }) ]% R) K8 M9 S0 B) h1 b* K* o8 i
* y# P1 Q% ?- W: o* F0 MCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates6 d" K8 p3 T! S2 E/ |, y
"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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. p" Q& Y4 ?7 y4 U, L. Z8 v"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. ( ], X- Z' L& Z2 p/ G
! T, O: }( V8 n8 w0 |% v. `3 y! _Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 2 C' h; m. p/ d0 T H I/ Q) ~1 _! K
- Z& y8 ~ I! B, s* gThe draft budget does not come out until November. " F3 d; D: D+ [; s' h( M
4 g" {6 g8 s% o5 |; v+ g% g"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. 8 f/ h; M9 [% i6 Q- y5 _% Y% I
! w, d( e5 e/ _: A/ y"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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7 Q+ ^+ A4 V' y/ A) {: OMaurer 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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) q5 U d( Y' G5 L4 L/ [) ]" h"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. ! _# ~1 l5 z( d! F1 s
* P9 [: C+ ]+ m aScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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3 F P0 N+ Y8 i5 }He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. # r; [7 |- j4 I
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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."
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0 l. o6 O2 [# ~The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 2 d7 N0 W& O& ?9 k
5 e4 ?. Z0 d) C, @5 I8 oThe 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. 5 m$ }# I8 q Z
9 ^4 M# C. L$ uTax 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
