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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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- p1 c4 O- ~ x; ]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. + @1 z$ w J- K7 b1 T
) v: R+ @; y+ K' J5 [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.
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 8 n! N: X' ~7 A4 X- B- s
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates; Q& z: \2 @* P0 b
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 7 Z! x, I+ H3 o7 ]3 i
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 9 c h# N& G) A, I* a' U4 e
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 2 x0 M9 H0 j: ?$ ^5 Y& Q' a
$ {) a- ~; G7 X( H$ @"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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3 s' m+ R6 }2 F8 A2 I* A. v"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ; A8 I2 Y3 d7 ~3 M( C: [$ Q
+ z8 X* \" s& }% W) C+ A4 ?1 HHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. ; v' [" |2 \; `
$ N; V; R) K( Y; _' h: f"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. - K' X' A1 Z+ I5 J6 l+ e. h" o
. j. F& b4 `0 `$ HScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. q0 V; s' |3 w' i
' |, @ q5 [% eHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. ( [7 r4 z" c* x' p
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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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7 _2 d" F' O q/ C4 F; o7 ^* \8 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." # A3 \9 X. H2 m, |1 e
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. , |8 a& [3 w6 c
( I$ l7 X2 t% ?$ BThe 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 w, z/ b ?& o6 j( L5 w
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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
