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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. 3 S. c# [( g. M. ~
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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.
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) X# b) o6 [9 z( y: x, 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.
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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9 T4 e7 |) t) q0 f* R0 {City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates a/ _. y# f, ?9 K. s, N0 U* t) T. F
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 0 ]5 q# v1 u q, T2 G) }- w" }
! y% B0 b/ O* J2 A+ }A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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+ C9 H# u8 W$ X4 I+ E# W/ E$ n+ j"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. 5 h ?/ ^6 J) [
4 _, g: I/ H% U1 K" `" f' y8 @8 `The draft budget does not come out until November.
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7 v& }! ~5 K9 ?2 i"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. . i I" M9 E7 e& U+ X, K
2 l. Z2 K* x0 P/ r"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 0 w5 v/ d) I2 M( e4 ~8 V: @
% n# a3 d; b4 wMaurer 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.
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1 k5 g! c# T0 y% c- u0 u"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. I3 l, `' \6 f3 r+ S! n4 d; y5 I7 x
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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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, H# ~" X& O7 r! S2 W: e4 }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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3 T5 G. ^1 Q% y"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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0 M9 l, R3 J7 Y7 R8 @1 m8 FThe 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
