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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. 8 J% V/ C& p ]' K
1 S/ [$ a" e8 }) N* PEdmontonians 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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! w( s3 ~8 s8 RMandel 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. % M5 J Y% a- Z
/ [' @3 q9 r+ Q- V; Z: J"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. ) Q0 r, |! z* z4 j5 P3 F3 n
0 f4 K) C; T" `0 z1 U( A. aCity manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates, v: S$ c0 \. x- _( u# s+ h
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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/ b7 O0 l. C6 L9 Y. XA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel. Y+ z4 Z3 Z. L) B3 y2 S
. }& M* k3 `+ w8 W) ^/ `Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point.
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The draft budget does not come out until November. 9 b" K1 J% i ^ O7 L
! ^5 G2 j; e/ p"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said. 3 J: O" b7 D4 C$ O6 U \* a4 u1 R; O
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"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." ; Z4 |) d1 o8 T* D% c
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. 7 k- b0 n" }! z0 r; E" [) W- ~
4 X6 Y: L* ]! L: kHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks. " j$ u& |9 ?/ y. n" j3 O' f) F
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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.
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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. $ D* V3 F8 N8 l
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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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, @/ c$ @+ x2 R1 D! t"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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8 B, O8 M1 L, x9 {The 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.
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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
