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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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) B8 U& y! |6 ~) C7 C3 \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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) I; n6 R$ Q8 d ]( I; D4 J+ H9 [& ?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. : ?$ I3 \0 \, V" T8 w
* e* x2 f) y" n0 V4 t"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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& z+ u! A0 t. c4 ~& n [3 KCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates9 V5 g: g) i* c4 u8 F% g/ Q
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. ! Z7 [: I) [; _. {0 G4 E+ m
7 _' ?8 H. M& Y9 rCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. ) {6 w0 Y3 }$ _ e2 V: t+ P: s
+ M+ q, N) k+ ^' E"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. $ d; @$ Q6 O& w T1 c
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." : i8 T: J& a! B5 c$ n
1 U7 c- y+ l( \0 g# s; F3 [ GMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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) A. d; H2 J# c1 O$ i# @0 VHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. . @' a; p q" P, Z
+ J3 Y. e/ B9 @* x"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. ) p3 {9 f5 r5 s6 X
' R" b. I# F1 ~# H* ^+ ^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.
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8 H, o' ?1 [% o7 G1 V"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 7 ]$ F6 h7 ?, l& @
7 n; f& \6 t2 c6 G4 n$ A4 D2 c% Y* z"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." 6 {8 u) D$ t% D" J# Y
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. - M/ l" ?5 l9 z1 U, {( e
9 O; b$ B. [' R" f7 X; |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. ' d) j) I* l1 J4 C: h' ~3 n7 y
5 P0 g1 @/ z' l( [8 G- b) 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
