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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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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.
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) y. {: b5 q3 W8 v2 m- D7 Z% ?0 Z4 C"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. % m& R- }' i3 |
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates" O* D" E/ |& V. }2 c9 `# R
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 3 Q& C0 c4 ?/ L* V7 O9 M
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 4 J5 r% d. \4 c
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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+ b9 Q( z6 @. C, L% A$ ?4 O1 ECoun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 2 r- `3 E8 t3 i
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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7 X. s( H, h! B$ n+ Q0 A! Q* ^) L"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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. }+ b! Z" i, ?; b, f- S6 L/ O"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. + K1 B2 u8 |; w! _" X6 u2 F- g
* r, x0 V2 e4 p6 F f$ i0 Q4 bHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. : ]8 W* i* O* r9 y3 [ S
" b G, x" k K( q5 O9 V4 ?"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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- [3 \7 J! ~/ a3 N# c9 A1 t8 E- BScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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/ Q3 z# r, _, s# `+ THe 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."
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The average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. " E, v6 {4 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
