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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike$ q( L; E1 M$ Q9 U
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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' ]" F ^8 O7 ^ d4 t! aEdmontonians 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.
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 0 `* c) k, u+ u; k& T& k
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates) a3 d4 v) o9 P' U
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 7 Q) a/ \% }+ D/ \; T+ N7 ^5 ~
[6 e) C( r! u) W8 x! IA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 9 |! Z, I4 _( {+ @% r. a4 ?5 i6 {" J+ q
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. ) ]3 J1 o; x1 Y+ t9 q6 u. _
) o& A8 C$ a" BCoun. 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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% t' \" U# C* Q5 e4 i9 U. y7 vThe draft budget does not come out until November. / o# z" ~/ n& N4 ] V
( w* E* o7 B% a0 \"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. 7 x# C# ^( W$ B. c. a) X" S
( _2 e) o" T' \1 }"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." + Y4 R* U/ e7 |8 L6 e. K! s
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. & M% K1 ^$ a8 `* Q8 b
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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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7 W' G& k/ P1 o) f+ C) ~0 N* M7 z"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 3 X6 v% c- s% q9 O) b
/ T+ R0 E$ T) {& N( R8 {3 K4 ~Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ! M9 a. K: G l! v6 [+ q' r- f
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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.
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"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said. # ~% @5 n& V. }% Q, A$ a
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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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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. , `# I1 @+ X# S( g( Z
+ q) B9 E- {4 ]5 d2 s' vThe 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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& d) U6 A( k5 M2 {# Q! h) a( }# k1 kTax 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
