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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike9 L( `" b, j, L2 o3 Z% n
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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; }' N+ E4 @4 Z8 x- v6 P ZEdmontonians 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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2 m7 T6 c2 `: {. I# a5 H* \. zMandel 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. ' U' E% T7 l+ a$ h/ z- N/ D
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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$ C, _' i; Z; h9 X9 hCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
6 ?, e, F* `" d& O" Y" N+ g"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 $200 a year. ' f5 H, g% K6 G9 e) R0 A
9 e+ c3 E; i# V* [( R6 `" w8 r3 G"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 0 G. F, N) l+ N5 `+ y1 ?/ A" d; _; f
7 b9 B0 p& ]( R" o# r% D! Z8 M1 kCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. + [+ {$ x& x0 Y! w7 r0 e" J* D
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The draft budget does not come out until November. f/ ^5 I' u3 s! B. Q. |4 D! o
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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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" P$ i7 p& {8 X( F- b7 a7 B"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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$ |! J- { a9 uMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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9 \, E) A5 c9 m+ J, L) UHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. : k7 X$ Y6 G' S3 J: |
# W9 }, }; ?2 t7 {( ^# T"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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~3 |6 `, ]3 u3 K: C+ {Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. / T; O8 [- Q6 m; Q3 \4 P
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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.
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# W& y1 t' @7 ]- y. D7 o8 n"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ) e+ k0 E( w5 J; Z
3 K2 `% C- N/ o5 x: @6 S"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." 7 S1 Z1 u+ b9 G% \4 z3 V2 \0 r
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 5 X+ Y5 l' T$ J( {
$ U2 n2 k3 ?% W) VThe 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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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
