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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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# Y+ q) G+ K: h. OEdmontonians 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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* ~. W/ W0 d. p! m9 z2 gMandel 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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1 l; O" N+ s; \"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. ( ]8 s% Q) k0 o' F' i2 [% F$ e
0 l2 F; s3 s& A# r2 VCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
8 n/ k9 U0 R% R, ?9 _ e0 t8 I"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 6 c) _9 \+ x) }- s8 u# \/ Q6 l& d
0 p1 f7 L, r! T! x( w# Y$ vA 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. ! ?1 m m3 V: k0 }/ I
* u+ D6 R. O/ O4 \Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. $ ^9 p' d# j4 T$ s% o
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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. ! Q- \. y2 J7 C5 f7 P
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"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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, ]/ u8 @" |( j' Y$ ~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. * x' I) |3 o. J; f. f8 t M/ c: s* y
: z8 A! I: W! jScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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. B' @2 m! [% ` |: ]3 JHe 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. $ k3 N. t9 _/ ?7 u. K. j; G
! o. Z* i; g3 t& O"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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7 `4 ?# g1 W' K* C0 [5 }: G' U# YThe 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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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
