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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike1 @ V8 }! t" r7 } X$ Z
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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# `7 s! H s- j h7 n% OEdmontonians 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. + b8 C8 o9 m& m( b( A3 q/ g7 ?% {
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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. % a# Z) `# \- D1 ^# W; g
; R. f) w( a k& @+ Z- G; S& A: b: GCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates8 ?0 E* e; [$ k8 Q
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 6 K; t1 {9 ?4 S9 w
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. y3 i* ~" k( ?- K
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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8 F- O6 l3 U5 E3 e8 @; r* xCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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; A' V& P) {5 w% I% I6 H, c"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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- ~2 D7 A) Z, i( H5 o0 @4 @! e9 S; U"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." . J4 M' r" e# {; e/ R; _+ A5 C
; A$ r. f- Q% t: i# k, E( bMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. : ]) b* w, y) `6 j( j9 b$ l
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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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' g% t. u( T* {1 e$ S3 g"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. * F8 N8 l, C, C' Z0 l) L/ |
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ; ?$ r# F7 N+ z# n
G9 `% C6 P e. k! zHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. ; n" C! E# U* b7 v
/ \0 b: W& X' i$ h! s4 |) }, f"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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2 T* [# {. M" S+ v2 _8 Z j 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." 3 T7 y7 ]7 ]5 b. d& I% \
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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.
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/ g A. ]4 c% v- S6 k/ LTax 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
