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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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2 m8 ?# l3 J, cEdmontonians 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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+ h. C9 K8 j% y5 |5 \5 bMandel 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. 1 S5 x* B. Y8 ]1 Z) V
8 R& w* j8 e* q9 |2 D"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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- z: Z2 ~' `8 R2 q3 r0 \. }; PCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates: U) H, y& X$ g; ? X7 w3 m
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 1 @8 e7 F w# K0 ]
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. / B1 I: @( Q2 X; J8 o# A
7 F- z- j6 \0 t" G( g" lCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 2 Y# Z0 t# w& i5 Q' p* E' {3 p" y
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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. r6 W1 C$ s1 y$ x, G ]6 n"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.
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& j9 P$ X" q- h3 p2 R+ NHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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8 B8 A9 Q7 D8 l$ Z) L }. k1 b! a: p"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 0 ?! t. J4 H( z( B4 n- j k. ~
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. + K; W4 b. ]) D# \5 U
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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. - N9 _8 L* {+ ?0 b1 J, z' ^
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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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( k2 Z" d& M+ y' O' t* e! f"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." ( Z2 d# e$ U" d" z6 }- P
" V) P( s( {- n9 _The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 3 f% y( I8 N# _: C8 F3 N
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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. / p4 {( G0 c6 K% _! ?
) W: x5 r0 M( n, m3 YTax 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
