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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike, z, ~* G: R- B& Q' O% `
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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8 `4 o, t$ Q6 ?. e, FEdmontonians 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. 0 Z9 N) z) s6 K. U) X5 w
8 O: F8 k% \4 K: E$ }* z, eMandel 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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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
1 A8 d6 S0 f; }/ k; |"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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( |9 T f4 F$ T4 q, _A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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3 d2 l! R" H# u6 \"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 7 R/ i d! ^: e+ x; S
1 l" g2 N' M8 l2 W' I2 Y' h: B% ZCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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+ E! F w- i$ ?7 M* d3 k5 IThe draft budget does not come out until November. & i6 t; L6 E" J3 m' x: X3 K5 e
$ ^. O; C0 {& b) D7 Q: n: P"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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1 n* c! r& y: j* J* n& ?Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 0 N% c$ c9 Y( J' u5 [0 @
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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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2 c9 W/ w2 R" q7 _+ r! {8 N"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. ; R- L! x d) s& a# U
4 g- o* L" K& HScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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`, J, N# h: m4 {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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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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, K# ?6 p, f2 Q, _5 n' G"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." 3 d; z" `, z P$ C& L9 ?, d7 G) R5 W
( |: j6 q7 g8 H! Q- K; P6 ZThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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% U5 i% h. h1 U( _- [; s+ u2 x+ wThe 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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8 s8 P) F2 m) R% y; G0 L/ ?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
