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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. " A4 _9 @# Z6 `$ R/ U
8 t$ S q* Y& L% |& K3 Y, }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. + o( ]' O: \+ d& d! |2 `/ J
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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.
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. # U) ]0 v5 L1 l" S2 j7 B: V! B1 b
6 C- j* W# ~! h' a) U5 |5 dCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates* o! v1 Q" i) n) j5 S
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 8 x) f' A3 ~+ A+ a0 s/ E6 E
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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. $ k$ P4 G5 z9 l2 i1 |/ d# `
- \( g: ^2 H% V- yCoun. 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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$ w0 O/ N" D# S. o( J% o. _"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. # f0 j6 c- V' E( G) \
( b: ]6 M! z6 z* H* M( t% ]"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. 6 r/ m: X& D4 t4 f
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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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( q" } R" B! K; T: T7 c"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. ; C2 }2 A k% q a/ B1 o2 I
3 H+ }' W+ o" lScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ; h1 L8 [/ W8 d& @
9 Z9 c/ ]% Y c2 A) WHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. ( S! D2 v* Y+ D. B- z. N
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. & g# s; A5 @) l; u
. o7 f' M% J; b. v7 Q/ `6 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." & Q! {# ]/ y. _" e3 K
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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- V) A( |7 X: X0 f9 R5 Y2 |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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( ~& n& {( O) T2 [/ C- cTax 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
