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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.
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# D' ~' z- |2 L" f; y( ^" p" dEdmontonians 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. : g( w: s( }4 R1 q" i
9 i9 V9 c, o3 g9 z9 |9 a) L"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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- F, u7 Z5 V* A, R& _( c6 kCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates D8 B/ Z9 n: E o i: U
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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2 C% B' U( F% p- h6 q3 \. MA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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4 F8 _/ a3 p+ ?"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. ' D% H, i6 b0 t! m0 \9 \5 @ q3 u2 V
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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' v/ z& Q& {+ P% m3 w: _"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. 2 x- w, G5 Y- x8 o0 Y# i
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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. 0 a- R# Y& K* k0 ]" \1 I! G
- ]# l. `. h. e0 tHowever, 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. 5 V. m3 ?7 ]; z9 v! ]' p2 F, x, K/ ^
1 ]7 p( ]8 r& d0 x- E8 t0 _Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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2 z7 t. V. j3 r, E4 OHe 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.
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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." * U3 g8 F/ g* x( G& d8 ^
% J! f; h% r1 Q* r f8 OThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. |3 }. W; O8 m* Q) l; [9 |
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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
