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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike8 b0 s9 W1 |. M" i9 v
: s6 N* T# z: s) u/ XThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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8 t/ O# a' w- d8 Z* S$ ^6 }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. & j5 W3 m3 Z2 [0 \& l0 M% {$ M; J
; t2 J" L! u! |/ @6 N8 G; O; GMandel 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. 5 [" G! P$ Q' D% J
4 k, ]+ A% ^3 w0 ?"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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% n% g7 a8 l2 YCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates& |; W! C) i, `: V' x7 f7 R% `
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. / S' H7 a5 D2 `- o8 p
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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/ ~8 B+ a! V( R! d"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. - ?5 Y3 n4 Q* a! W
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 6 _0 |# w& `8 P& u. v" j
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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* J2 b/ y% }7 m1 w$ f"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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; J& j! _. S/ m' L+ h+ f"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." - \$ I7 T: Q, |; G* ^
+ _9 u1 A- ]& ^Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 9 v J. h7 ?- V6 M( E
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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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"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.
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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. " y: H1 h% D9 i1 Y3 M
^% @0 _5 z9 d0 }, [$ [9 N"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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# y0 c, {: @- D& x" ~1 G. k"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." ) q. k& u7 H. j. }6 q3 ?
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 7 }& j& y) m. S1 y9 Y0 a
, F7 r/ k0 N5 {8 H; S, fThe 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. : W' k; u2 q$ e* [! I3 L
0 z, v9 H8 D; l6 nTax 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
