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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. & `; c, u1 K- L H% ]' f
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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. 8 e. B$ ^% g& [1 V: Z& H# q# Z) H
7 T/ K1 M* e* H; g+ f/ { B/ ]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. 6 h2 D( e( g9 E$ z4 c$ Y
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 7 r8 I. c. L( H1 j# x$ c: V) j
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
z! F5 M8 y3 Y8 \"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 3 i6 e& r! p( \' s: X0 O7 }
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 1 x0 z- |' v7 p3 O
, t( {0 y y( R& J. {3 T+ w5 TCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. ( S+ I" x& [$ c1 t3 ?( G' p9 J Z
2 _* E+ r/ v0 CThe draft budget does not come out until November. 8 e0 G3 ^( \- D3 x- R0 z
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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. & @+ e/ W% Q( x
F, O# y5 b, b( w4 `. Y+ Q7 ^"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." - \, B8 t3 T. k* o
# g- n1 n7 c6 k& S/ `3 q! i* LMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. / m/ ^' Q U }7 ?* |' A4 d
- Z9 O, y: b2 @" V; V/ W; c; K2 oHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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' z2 }6 d3 c" Q/ e1 T9 h$ p E3 v+ ~"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. t+ B' ^) L5 J' S8 T c
) i7 @, x* s6 ~' w0 l' w7 ~# bScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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! K$ q/ P. S* j) \# ?3 c- J+ tHe 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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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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7 z4 v' I/ {1 f$ Y4 N"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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$ V! x4 T$ V6 I$ ~; pThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. , w" a2 t; s) c
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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. : H% y* k- ]0 @' [, C2 j6 I
7 R! y( ^; e9 e; k$ KTax 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
