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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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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.
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, Z; f6 |" T! 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. 7 M1 Y3 q3 F+ F6 d
5 ~" U2 D9 v4 [* W1 ~- BCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
+ `! A. \+ j3 y$ U"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 $200 a year. ! I! f2 c2 e0 L& _, H8 l. C1 ^" _4 {
* ?9 ]; K+ z+ K, K& i" R4 p: C+ {8 ["There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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: U% P: J0 G3 SCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. H A1 S, }$ g! z3 U
1 D. s( ~/ a/ t4 B( a- BThe draft budget does not come out until November. 6 R3 [- B* R. c
" K0 G' @. J9 n; L& [6 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. 4 B9 W) V- y Z( L1 h3 W# m5 i' K
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 1 o ], Q$ @! ]9 v
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. & o( \# B _( l% W0 t$ D$ c
3 |5 A' d/ G' F& YHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 1 N( k0 K$ {" F H# ~; x4 a
* u* ]# |) M8 V* f! |6 R8 L"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 0 b0 w. G" D* @! D G5 I; }& D
) L3 l; T$ D* X6 g4 W, bScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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4 c+ w; R- ~2 ~/ `' B% m, T6 JHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. : ~% J( e$ Q* `/ M
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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; j% ?0 G4 n+ [& D2 |1 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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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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# H' o! ]1 q+ g- w- y- [0 K) uThe 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 k! V0 ?% V( Z' z9 y
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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
