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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike+ @( o9 |6 r. f4 W9 r9 e \
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Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet. {/ H4 d7 i+ O
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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.
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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. 4 Q1 A; o/ T; Z9 x; H
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. 3 R7 C5 m4 U- ^5 I: I# d# {
2 J* @7 K; C; H$ c, D' A) p- {3 {6 {1 iCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates& z* ^- R$ u( {, k
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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) m& i' q0 o7 Z! B# J2 f( s* Z4 vA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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- ?/ Y2 ~' Q$ o! S* f, PCoun. 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. 5 U W% p7 f% f" Z# z8 J
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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. / n& M. `. z! o4 I
! e* v# P" W# S. O"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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0 U; S0 H4 A7 B) l4 T. nMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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7 }0 z( |5 v9 {* K8 X! eHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. , e2 j4 q# J: y, E
, p* @. X4 X+ N+ D"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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4 K3 Y; l7 d+ ^Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. # L: K B+ Y; |7 r$ z T" W
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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. . @. i. ?( i1 M& s
% ~4 \/ h8 x7 P; R- h8 ]( ["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.
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; @& s' X) d% _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. ; Y% g5 b- D2 m C
& P" x' z! @! ?: I0 h4 }/ [$ bTax 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
