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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. / I9 q$ S) h3 c* ~
3 \% ]) s& y5 P8 J) D: lEdmontonians 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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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. 5 @/ |7 c; }$ l1 i" g7 E
2 S! N8 v9 C2 ~5 U4 I1 F"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 6 {" e6 A/ O, d# K0 u
8 V1 l, ]. Q; A: }5 f) l6 NCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates- {/ w4 P. Z/ }- c5 Q$ Y
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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% b7 G& r6 q- a l% `$ c! Q. fA 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.
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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.
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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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However, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. 0 i0 {/ z/ v, F/ W8 j: Z
! T9 `, v4 s/ C) w# {. M. }: c6 i! _"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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! l K3 o _: {1 ^% sScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 0 a2 v5 j6 ?# w d( \) h
- i8 y0 ?+ k# Y: y# y, R' Z- LHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. ) H$ G2 t7 x: V) U% f# `/ c
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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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"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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) y: k6 _; i! [- Z, m1 KThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. # Z5 H9 A7 S. k. B, R) |, x, A
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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
