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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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l* j$ J5 t0 u. T# h' HThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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4 r: e4 i1 U CEdmontonians 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. ! ~' b# f$ H$ [; Q
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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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* ]) P: a+ m' S4 {8 O7 I% z"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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! h; H: R3 O% f+ }' q: p+ nCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
9 Q; O( C7 f! {9 B( s. l"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. * n$ J) f, x6 v, t& m& ]$ g5 M* D
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. * \5 N* R/ {1 A% k/ N5 O
( z1 Q4 l: n6 l1 Q# }"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. * l& N$ j6 p5 Z9 X. M; a
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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.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 6 U3 s9 F4 V' ? }9 }/ J
! Z# Z- |3 Z/ ^) T0 j"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. + s( j. K2 r7 r( |
) X. {+ |% I0 e. x"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 0 \) V) P+ I( O: p6 H, e- k
/ d$ I4 R* h YMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 2 X2 }; M9 {+ A! f* ?5 ^
# d1 ]" m9 U- YHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. $ y7 F& n; U0 R3 C/ o2 o
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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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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. . S# m. h8 O$ m! H) ^9 R
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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. 6 y% c% L7 R9 r4 R [* {' V
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 5 H2 @9 U* s8 x; v# L. f+ E* T l# i0 E
) a' E; O9 W" T5 G" E* o |"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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8 J1 E* |9 u# g9 ?4 O0 mThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. ; R) m" l7 G4 k) q8 o$ G( g
+ V4 P' V; \1 }, z' p8 XThe 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. " k3 N) C! c8 g% {+ W+ B
1 L: J. Y5 ^; g% k+ w A9 }" ?+ ~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
