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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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# ~" h" m- b) EEdmontonians 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. : _% x# Q7 G4 G- g+ |
1 s' ~; x/ T: M+ P5 R6 V9 x0 b" t" BMandel 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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9 }& w% r" \, G6 Q" ~- n"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/ m: @5 x( u1 Z1 l1 F* L+ E2 `
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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' y7 }6 s D( kA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 2 x4 p" H) S) D6 c" I
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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$ Q8 {* R1 _! `0 J, z, sThe draft budget does not come out until November. ' D3 o" ]. {$ s" Q* Q+ [
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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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4 p$ T$ ?; v- t' H8 Y8 M"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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" a$ S; Z; R( c8 g HMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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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.
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6 n* ]5 K4 O1 A; z"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. , q! ]0 J/ _! c5 M
. [6 ?( Z. I8 z! lScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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# p. a/ A3 L N ^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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2 F" o N! M S6 n7 c" |/ w& T- i( _"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ! w( Q8 S/ p1 P8 o7 \+ s1 ^ K( a s
' C5 C' B8 H& `% V5 P"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.
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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. . [8 g( Z: ]3 \2 i8 o
5 `# N: _# a1 N- }7 n! RTax 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
