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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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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. : n# E3 V D' q6 ], c3 L4 a% F
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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. % |/ Q# j* z& g6 V6 o1 \( N
5 n& b+ y/ R" I3 ^6 s2 c; l"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates% | j$ y l, p
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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/ p% U- x% R. u0 s( X! GA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. # Z) d- [! w: F7 J' d/ `
( c* U8 W% T5 Y/ k+ f, A"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. / |2 Q6 |( A, D6 r3 _( G
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. . q# M1 _# q3 G' Z) W4 c9 J
: Q. }: z# M$ B8 I/ U( f1 gThe draft budget does not come out until November. 8 \7 V; {% m4 e4 d0 f' E5 T* d
9 P5 L2 M; ?4 C/ y"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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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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3 M6 {. y i% r5 \Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ! O, L6 f3 k( K3 s
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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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+ m1 c* e. ^" L# ^, N0 Q; 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. + S2 o: ~; g9 P
' O$ P0 K5 o6 Y, _9 X"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." . y6 y5 v4 p$ ^) x8 J* Y
3 [6 R+ W" |# d6 WThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. * a$ y% @* q- ~: }$ h5 K5 R. I, g6 b
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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
