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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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- x' ^+ b1 C- O4 H3 T: i# V& 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.
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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. ( p3 o5 d0 o: m; D+ X, w" |
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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9 V3 P9 j$ [$ W* x# _City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates0 x7 Q( z4 ^. d; L- ?% _+ }
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ) F8 P4 G9 J! @+ c
# o( }, o4 n7 A0 a: X- z/ A/ NA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. ' h, a/ _9 ?" V& ]
8 p% C- z6 j$ n" L& J1 T" A# u6 a$ VThe draft budget does not come out until November. : p7 `& q" Y4 C$ S# M# n
$ ?5 e# Y$ P# t* d, d2 s! W"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. * h/ ?- K |' ~3 C u# j: D i
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"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. `0 s* A3 W' H+ L% m4 X
7 O T/ I- o- n* E9 X1 dHowever, 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 s1 W& j% f M" |* ~; a"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 2 P- r$ H0 _- N) ? U
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. / x t' y% n3 g2 V3 T7 g. w
: ]# [: U, E j/ P, r+ y/ UHe 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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% h4 W* b/ y9 Z) W"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ) w: ^* `8 S" a
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"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. ( V/ w+ ]! b0 ?8 S
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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
