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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. 2 L- ^$ {! @& m' E1 l
; Y4 m" q% @: n+ pEdmontonians 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. ( G, t; R% Y4 U) r1 {- F: @7 {
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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. " N9 |$ j0 [/ ]& N, Y
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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 estimates0 k- n5 g3 r* b: P% E4 ]5 M( O% H
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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' w+ `* `0 A: J& BA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. , J+ H4 X+ S9 J- R; F) `6 V/ `" D
- a/ E& b2 o- ] j"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. 0 @1 V7 H( K) q3 T! A- n! l
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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. 4 e1 g1 U7 a& Q8 d/ H( c" j9 d4 z
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The draft budget does not come out until November. - W+ M1 D: N; |# L% U- f8 I
) e; Y. R: H) ~& b" O4 o"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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2 C+ t. N' ^: M3 j( e( a3 }"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." % g3 z2 G; A* a! X8 g! q+ K
( {5 O) A4 A' P4 f4 Y0 DMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. + [! q& W) \* A3 l* Z
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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. : ^. D2 w7 G2 C4 k; u7 u, T
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 2 {, |; j7 s6 h7 D" X6 q" f
5 i- h' J* h) MHe 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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( ~* `! x; Y u" b7 }"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. / n5 @7 {4 K9 j( t+ Z* r! T8 l
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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." 5 Q7 b* }1 E) ^3 T) }4 u, X
' \* o" I# M2 f% p& q3 e8 T0 m5 kThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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The 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. / E( [* W* S4 i! {
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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
