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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. ! ] D/ B! h* l
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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. 6 y( f7 t1 S0 }+ S/ w
- j: R) c+ g9 W$ u8 O"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers.
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
/ u+ K& [, c# N' m"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. $ Y4 d k9 j0 N- |
, |2 k0 {: a l1 S5 v) m6 TA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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; q' |4 \( D2 M) ~, P% V7 C"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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/ J# f! n/ C4 F, X) a0 _Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. % S1 g) |: J! s! u- }- ]
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The draft budget does not come out until November. ! Y' x4 l) W( o* j4 r% N7 o! R* `
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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.
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8 X! h% d4 @: u# j9 c- t5 b' I"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out."
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7 a. `/ [! \& G: VMaurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 3 i. W) @* Z) n( C. \! I
+ ?6 L& o# K8 z$ \, eHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. : r) r: A+ y+ I5 a- C
/ N- d" Z7 j8 G- P) Z* _% E"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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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. 0 w4 `/ v, k9 `
+ n5 ]! A' l0 w2 Q- J9 z6 MHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 2 N3 n8 m7 k, v7 G
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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. : L: o7 a& {, g- H+ z
! o9 v5 Q. ~* i8 N1 p* YThe 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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* t" K8 J; W) i' dTax 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
