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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. 7 a- F; A( N' I, W
* s3 n$ R/ p% P2 C- T' `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. 6 P1 c9 z( K m- A" I0 T
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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. / Q. K" S$ l+ N+ j
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"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. + i0 ?4 r* t# |( K D+ V7 i: Q
$ D( `1 ]% \$ g. _$ ^City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates( V- e% J) L, w0 ^; m
"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said.
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9 V, V. `! _7 Z$ G" u: V2 r; K4 GA hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year.
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k, m* \" c3 K3 D"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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/ X% L! [0 X: t! ]3 hCoun. 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. 4 H# c8 a+ ]0 R5 _% V/ d
0 P, _: t. D, P/ M1 B. W"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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"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. * s9 n4 f# v8 |0 w, w% h
+ `; {) @3 x8 \3 u+ A3 BHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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6 o1 d& Y' m" g"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 1 l, ^* {9 \# J2 a8 J- t
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Scott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. ; ]/ \; }, _' P( \* J" O+ b
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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. 1 n* [) @, W- s' ~+ W; z
0 l" \$ ?9 X+ f; f) q4 c"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.
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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. ' {- M# X1 p) t n9 ^+ N, ?/ y
8 C2 M5 M9 N# @: a: u# ^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
