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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike
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! {& P5 Q" Z: V6 g1 bThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. / I) {5 O/ U1 }# P
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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. 8 K: y* ]9 Y. s
. ?9 @) F, t# N1 o, v. F/ CMandel 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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% A! y$ B5 i- k. L, T"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 2 u5 E1 l/ k8 ~- a( b$ @* Z
% W( \7 n% `1 S K: h. k+ sCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates+ p& O5 D; e+ k# Q p& d6 _( V* c
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. g8 [0 Z# }$ R* v1 `: l! a2 v# X4 n* d
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 2 O: Y! q. @( P
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. ) T' e# D% d( y0 A2 ?# ^' K8 g
6 ?0 g6 s1 k k9 xThe draft budget does not come out until November.
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7 w! W) `+ e F8 B2 L* x. v"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. * B3 @3 I' o! j: |3 x; w: _6 i
7 Q t s: J! `$ E9 ~"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." , s( O+ r% a% o8 z, B) a \; D
8 q. P; [% o zMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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, T, |+ Q& U; X# }$ S: f4 r1 h5 EHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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# _; f) ~/ t8 x/ G" O"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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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 3 I4 k- x" q( B% O8 o
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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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2 o( s2 }$ d/ I* E"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ) d$ V7 R: f* ~0 x7 M
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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." ) d# d8 d* G0 d& p. I; U& u4 d
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. - ]- N8 @/ p9 b3 v2 H" w
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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. 5 C; T& ~) j" N9 S, @6 A
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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
