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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. 0 h/ J7 p2 L* n2 Z: w
: d/ E' M3 i2 d: z4 IEdmontonians 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.
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 7 S; P7 I6 `3 `, @
6 n3 Q+ u- ^4 s! f3 KCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates% D ?3 @# M$ H( \+ o
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 2 s4 @5 [6 r5 W7 c- w5 \
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 8 W/ {7 i9 d8 p3 I
1 g3 i8 l& k( d"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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! p+ S7 j, J' YCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 2 d/ A9 q. q& E) w$ _
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 3 m! a4 o3 Q. s+ V) e3 \# L
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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. + l5 {! X0 r( V, J1 j+ L A
, N0 l H$ }1 D! w! |"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." \' ]( E, d- p# Z8 L a
9 d2 G/ w# Q" Y+ b2 Y S% w" O2 AMaurer 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. % |- O' W2 ^* F! ], O, h1 q
5 e, z8 [% }" |" w"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. " V/ h1 S! Z- d8 e: p
- {5 t9 n! h* Z. I# h, { KScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 5 O3 t: J5 G; x3 X
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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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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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- ^. S: Q: h( i+ o! |" `) z"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." . v% h' R: f1 @$ R" b H. Q% C
+ n" @+ n0 G6 }& NThe 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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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
