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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike; v& Y- f* A5 U. [
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. 6 @7 T! w9 I1 b) _5 p" [# V
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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. ( i: b) F8 u1 Y" ~, T5 f
/ c( h+ \. K8 k6 p6 u( FMandel 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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$ X& ^' L# p/ q"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/ o: N+ f0 |% }9 g: [7 b3 k
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ( q0 t# x. x6 n7 F6 U
& n: z$ K# F0 B aA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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, Y; h& }5 f* b. \/ {"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. % l$ z% M" `1 x4 _4 J2 Q
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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.
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, Z5 H. ^$ v8 `, DThe draft budget does not come out until November. , z" x' ]- n# `& T- q9 D5 u
' i3 C% W& k7 i, U"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." ) p! E" `1 Z O0 ~3 l! }7 l1 g
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Maurer 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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"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. X7 K& ^; P* E2 w! H
/ H1 B1 R( w/ F/ qScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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% Y9 `: R; g8 Y4 d$ cHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. % {0 [% x' S$ }) b; r" P
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. ; b& d3 L/ ~; S- C+ h
* Y0 w2 j/ ^) i, G0 c) W2 u4 ?8 l"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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: P& ^+ U. f: X5 A2 K2 aThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. * o$ _# C0 r: I. K3 C
& t1 z5 ^2 i% I8 d# F- ?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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7 v% r' G& \" I4 Z) @+ |' qTax 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
