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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike7 [ |& J; m0 V2 c
; X% a' i0 K7 o5 cThink your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. ; b5 f0 S" r: i
' I1 Y* u# O% t; O% Y% o$ [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.
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) Q6 j) s3 _0 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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. B9 h9 t+ R/ G; ^& U: E"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 5 x/ K9 U! l* W
, { W8 d3 t/ L. p9 O8 n% OCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
- H3 {5 u' V7 o% n1 ?9 M" {" H"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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& L' I; A! \4 `/ F' D" S; RA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 2 ]: H9 `- Y- C" I4 Q* N8 }
3 {5 w; h Y3 Z U0 m1 Y"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. - X- @. u8 b- e+ K* Z
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. - v% I2 L( m% V5 S& _
' ?" x! C/ @, F6 Z' ?$ ]3 ?& d"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. ' ~+ O* F, J1 K* O/ D
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." 5 ~% ^1 s: s( B/ o1 V
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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.
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0 E \5 t2 I- h9 q- m" `Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. & O3 D, @# D) I$ V
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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. 0 A( E' ?6 _% U( s9 W4 D4 }
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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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# T# U9 G5 Z- L' Z& R& d"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." # {8 P) N' H, {# c# d
6 V7 Z1 W- ]; J1 ^, i4 G1 \' r) s# iThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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! p2 S; I5 `0 {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. * q; W1 [+ m- f) w
& v3 F; E1 x* ^- {2 _% x3 oTax 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
