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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike8 l2 w3 u/ p: O4 T9 V6 s" r$ k
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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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. , n( t4 e3 R4 A! P t& H7 y8 @
# p' t) v! d. y2 s5 O7 h$ VMandel 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. - ^/ a: U& ~- B1 C/ {! \- O
: V( i3 V- N: [+ J- O- dCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
' X3 G( P2 N* Z5 V1 R! w"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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7 J4 r6 \( W' g" R8 AA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. ( c. W) c) L' t4 Y& ~" l+ g2 G0 [4 `8 [
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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7 T. F! `$ k" x, T4 F" b) F2 h9 XCoun. 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 K3 L) O/ Y/ f( `& @The draft budget does not come out until November.
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9 i. z5 o9 [& k% B"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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' T d. R" R) K/ z. R"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.
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* {" }! [+ i* rHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 8 w% Q) N& Y/ S* b, B' p- u
6 N+ k$ I5 L) f ^"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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. R' S6 m; p/ P* K) P& M @, \( }Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. , X' u7 N2 Y! M, w
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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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/ n7 {+ ^8 |, e1 A+ ^"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 9 X7 z1 J( L) A8 {
, j: R) d" a* V# g5 z"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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9 f$ B6 M w2 Y- d0 K% fThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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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.
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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
