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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike& m4 c' @9 b$ o5 Z! S2 s% o f I0 q
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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* y# q& U2 [& g1 ~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. s: e, B- i4 v1 Z% X4 t+ ]
" w& g& H# Z% a. A% }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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$ m0 `: C# l' H1 J"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. ; H# `9 h' I! o
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
. y. b+ C/ D* ^2 x& H+ h( F"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. [% G4 b5 x }( `
* K( ? D' E6 \3 e- wA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. ! n4 P5 e" x, z
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. ( o d( k" |' y
4 V" l- \% L3 C. m- ^"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 3 X5 t0 Y. ]# q% L
. L6 q, j1 X7 ~0 _Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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0 k7 W8 H6 x) n! _) oHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. ' f8 {: n7 b+ O1 [8 f
& R% k2 U0 P& }2 J$ f6 Y" C# d"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. 6 g! Z1 a1 m- [) S0 N4 N
" R3 m0 f$ v* i. Z2 |# H"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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/ A8 _9 N2 @; G7 w5 j( z" ?' U) CThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. 5 N/ e5 `& c f+ a9 i6 B
$ C' l8 M0 u1 Q9 L9 qThe 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. $ v! l9 Q0 x N, e; ` A# q( m. l7 g
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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
