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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike* B( H7 | d, u% w; n: N7 x! N3 a: m2 [
& S$ F! r( ^) s, l6 d1 rThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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' |. q$ p8 {9 r0 Q7 }0 WEdmontonians 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. 4 F1 S5 Q# S0 h1 Q* n
- q( A+ S$ b5 m$ H! l J7 U6 pMandel 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 H0 ]( c, ^. W$ R3 q: Y
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates! Z1 o9 Y$ w% a) b
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ( I$ U y' t" v% m
1 |+ L" \7 x8 H3 M8 y5 XA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 6 V/ |- l# ?+ [
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. % D& k; \' }6 k: g) V" w+ {( o
8 B4 r( E. t$ |2 m/ ^% fCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. % D1 U, Y+ M: P1 N& S
) B# P5 s- a4 x- G$ f+ b/ Z8 OThe draft budget does not come out until November. / { X6 U# T0 O
+ X W D8 Y( f8 b2 x1 V* Z5 k& ]"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. 5 N' i# |+ b' r6 {! r: @2 r" Y0 V
: U% E. p1 r" _"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." : o. L. r+ c, _2 M: ]
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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: d* N3 O* Z/ a% GHowever, 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. - T8 `9 F O$ d
2 B+ \. g8 s8 l2 R8 JHe 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. 6 Z- i# e6 O. D; f/ Q) M
/ g0 e! w9 w m' _/ Z8 E) d"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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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. " I3 N% H3 ^2 x; X/ t
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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
