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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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Y: q, z f, W' A, @/ m: SThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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7 Y ?. f# E& ]% o$ d6 xEdmontonians 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. . } U8 z' z% O' ?' J* x% O
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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.
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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 estimates# u/ n& b [1 L" Z' W" w* p9 A9 o+ 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 $200 a year. 0 A/ D. Z, `. P- f- F
8 T, A, M$ X9 d$ ^2 ]"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. + W/ W8 n: c8 q9 v2 Z% ~+ f
$ ~7 \. a) l* M% ~7 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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The draft budget does not come out until November. O2 B/ [( `! w+ `5 O# s2 k% P* T
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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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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 6 a3 ?+ d# z- C$ ]/ n$ _
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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. ) G! T! I- t6 s- H
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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.
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* o# }" l2 X6 F5 g7 ~Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ; i& b9 a8 X6 Q3 Y" F4 g2 Z
$ O- b4 F5 o) Z. w; |He said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 5 K' P6 S4 q4 m- U# R+ n3 m3 N
" b$ K$ X4 X% i3 j& M"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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- C5 c0 x% I- ZThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. " z* F8 O/ ?% _' Z" ]4 b
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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. : g5 c9 Q, q8 i3 z& I3 o" H9 f
& f' e6 U6 a# n% BTax 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
