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Mayor warns of 'scary' tax hike( D& z$ w! K8 q% P8 t; H# W
8 \8 Y* {7 o( v* G+ W- _Think your property taxes are high now? You ain't seen nothing yet.
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0 H: q K0 j/ e) Y/ QEdmontonians 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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2 j" _1 j) l' M! A" Z"Looking at this we're talking an 8-10% tax increase," Mandel said in council chambers. : d3 i5 Z7 J; E( }9 U y7 ^# q: A* I
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City manager Al Maurer confirmed that Mandel's prediction was on the money, based on initial cost estimates
0 A0 N' ~) b8 g z$ t% X$ c"Given the amount of it, it's going to be scary," the mayor said. 1 [* ^4 N4 Q8 u3 g2 D7 x
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A hike in that range could cost the average homeowner up to $200 a year. 3 e' v' K' d! T' v' T" m( C& [( ?, l
3 B+ @/ F2 K" I7 o6 ?! O/ X4 ?"There's no question costs are going up," said Coun. Michael Phair, who conceded the tax hike "may very well" be in the range predicted by Mandel.
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Coun. Ron Hayter said it's still very early in the process, and he cautioned against getting overly anxious at this point. 6 G+ G0 J! \ P) ?! A! C
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The draft budget does not come out until November.
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. [( n( y0 k/ r h"I'm not looking for a major increase next year, at least not too much more than we've already approved for this year," Hayter said.
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4 V. N6 e* `3 O3 F"It won't be as bad as some people are making it out." ( B( O. V2 y( n% K& E9 e
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Maurer said income from investments and various financial strategies could offset a large hike. ! o( W+ l- f* `6 T* `9 k. M9 }8 I
' p' Z$ g2 J8 Q, K: EHowever, he said there aren't really any city programs that could be cut in order to save a few bucks.
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! b1 }) V8 [4 j" F"We've certainly got more demands," Maurer said, noting council still has to find money to fund an improved snow-clearing program. 1 M9 E& Z' P1 r9 d6 b% `
6 c1 ^- l7 h3 C$ z! CScott Hennig, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there's no excuse for a double-digit tax increase. * ?6 o% C+ z% `
+ V Z$ S, S( x: gHe said hikes should be limited to inflation, which is pegged at 5% both this year and next, according to the city. 1 w# K0 l9 I/ D2 d$ Y
6 a6 H {0 ?) D5 L"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." $ _: C s( B l/ @# [& Z
. s! U v7 P" K* M7 W* L2 nThe average property tax bill in Edmonton will go up 4.95% this year, the city has said. " I2 ]7 W& w$ |# H( f% {
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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. 2 N, z* ^5 p6 f5 b0 F
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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
