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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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* J$ f8 y2 n/ u* j% j7 z' E4 SEdmontonians 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. 0 S$ o# E' g0 B U& X8 P& o7 [0 P
5 T/ ?4 p6 f% w- h9 D. U. j6 `! [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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. w2 n1 ~ f! o( U$ B( D; S"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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9 A# Z1 p# U$ FCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
2 c- c, Q3 k' z- H" u% g% o2 H7 c"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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, u3 a- M* ^& kA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 0 ]% c& y- N5 J2 y6 |
4 u4 {/ J% ?; B1 n2 {, @# BCoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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% u) c G8 d$ o. Q; E9 l7 U- oThe 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. f" R9 h4 f+ P) O
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." + j, G' x. w2 V) B
7 X4 Y1 u* n$ Y* ]0 o, }Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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# u1 E4 K Z1 H [! jHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. u7 P3 v& N1 R$ M2 ~
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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. 4 \5 g( _+ }% v8 \- I1 K, ]$ j
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 9 |& f# Y# f1 ?+ p# d
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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. 4 O' F# U; s' H. t" D# o$ }+ E
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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." 6 k g! y" D/ }/ c$ J) b
' E/ E. I; ~6 d, j9 }9 h' r9 LThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said.
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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. $ W& u) h& P6 G" q+ o" ~
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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
