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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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5 O, M5 ? h" y, \" z3 {8 iEdmontonians 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. ; l8 _9 U4 J, y/ ^' r0 c
7 w* y4 d- \- K"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. : m+ }& S U; B0 F6 R* O
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates+ _* F% }3 l; i" B/ B( [! a+ W0 {
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. ; `) n" k" ~& F4 j/ x( V7 P- i" _
+ @5 q5 F/ O M( `/ g2 S7 oA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. 5 l. D; d, M4 l. O$ _
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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. : C! F5 C' `9 r5 o2 w
; t0 l8 @# Y& c: `The draft budget does not come out until November. 8 V& d+ T- m. b3 E# e: u
! a5 ?* m2 ]. V"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. " i A& ^) Y; M9 H' R
- c/ _, R/ M* t/ G7 n; M"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." + m( v m0 ?! D. ^, K8 l
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike.
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. R% \% o1 }8 a, ~( j5 e% dHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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; ?- b2 j$ B+ U9 {" r0 v"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. $ D6 ?# O; I/ d% ?
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase.
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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. ' L& S z% Y1 I0 w0 D/ ~1 S& n
( Q4 T- d3 o! U5 ~5 r"They're going to hear from a lot of angry taxpayers if they're looking at 10%," Hennig said.
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! M: m+ Z) n% }5 O( n"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." ( r( b) y0 z+ H2 c* b w1 e
& `* n0 U* I% rThe 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. / |: ~. R2 m/ j: e$ }* R. S: m& X
: L: a# k4 j' Y: m2 UTax 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
