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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike6 J: |) @$ I _# e. c6 Y0 B( J
% N5 n0 f' k! E4 z) TThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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) i4 w: G. D/ t+ M: c P5 sEdmontonians 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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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. 2 M& X9 B/ @7 S6 p/ l
, |/ @# p5 \2 x0 V" N% g# j"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 estimates0 R! S8 o0 m" x9 b' @0 n: \) N
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ; h2 V& ~9 H5 A$ A& D6 C3 a
; u2 X1 [. U5 S, D: KA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 4 @ K& S, [' y! v' k0 T8 R2 _
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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' W! r$ I" o ?0 UCoun. 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.
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"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. 1 \* }) z: q9 l9 B# Q& E
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." ( g# S' n% G3 L+ r. g# @; k
% ?$ Y9 L! y" _% B# B% q; h$ SMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 4 V( B1 b/ b' ~3 ~2 _! i% }
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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. * W4 g0 v5 w- p" I2 M4 Z, @- H" z i
* n( Y2 T$ f! a"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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: y6 ^# R' ?# q" fScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. $ n2 T7 }$ Q; E) T" u( i
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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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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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7 b; H7 ^( l6 r. `) [. 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." ( M6 d# g0 W8 f6 F: e& F
! w K t9 l u/ rThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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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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! E6 [6 H+ T8 z- Y. @% 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
