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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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, W" S- K( B6 P aThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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. }2 x/ b( ^9 {0 C$ jEdmontonians 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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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. , t' K' ~" o3 V1 T! m6 W$ U
2 c/ b% U; A+ w9 t" i' {: L"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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7 \4 j' E' j% d/ }City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates9 |6 y9 ?6 I. J' r
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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# \8 }3 L [/ r6 A UA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 3 E# r$ t: e8 A3 n
, W. i: `- t3 R8 g# V2 jCoun. 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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9 w, d2 M0 m4 K6 V# {3 g1 {The draft budget does not come out until November. 6 }. N. f, V; x2 ~
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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.
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* ^! p9 }8 a$ O"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 1 J5 T4 T0 l6 b) d
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. * ]9 p- b4 A8 \2 A
. `( Q5 ]6 |7 G( S0 fHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 3 o; b4 _. v8 M( j0 a* U. X9 `
0 N5 A+ r, l- z) W$ r' }6 S: ^: ?"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. t9 ~. U7 ]& F1 }8 H/ ~! I* D" b
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Scott 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. + z8 n" V1 b4 |4 C; \* `
" t7 W; I$ S/ \% d/ o( V"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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$ ?; \3 y3 {2 ^, u"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. - `1 F8 R8 Q& k- @$ 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. ' n1 B: G7 o% c4 { V/ l6 u
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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
