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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike- X6 @% ?% N) D6 `$ K- Y
, X7 I2 ]" w: h" U/ DThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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* A" W; _( F& ~# }. x9 d) ^) 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. ! c+ _( ^ J0 Q8 V
6 X7 J$ X5 \) ]4 L# q4 c1 L3 D! k"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. & |7 Y# o1 L6 I, B4 U! v
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates. j3 S! \1 S' n9 H# q- i
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 6 v# Z! @) J( a, ?3 n
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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& y* M4 m" t m! [. u, G; K"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. + c& n3 ?7 ^/ c/ K* R
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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{9 e1 c% x% f! Z"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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' S9 s6 W0 h. ?* }& L/ Y2 }"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 6 a# F! p. V" o3 }
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ! L7 R. [% S/ ^' P; e* Y
z- x, x4 N0 U* x$ tHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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, a! I" e' ^. `"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 6 k1 X5 d0 ]1 c5 o! A5 a
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. $ r- x- q& X% l4 l
9 s5 l& S& M9 ^6 LHe 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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"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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/ C8 y# T; h. \' T5 M' {The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 5 T0 O* S3 z+ b) u/ }
7 @, ^3 O! ~/ R# YThe 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. 6 O5 Q9 R) r' c
3 {. K/ b: Z) D! f/ ^0 I; STax 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
